Three Faces Of Ivan
by char-tomio
Summary: Sunflower. Lead pipe. Vodka. Bystander. Murderer. Prisoner. Russia has multiple personality syndrome and has hidden it from the world. Liechtenstein is one of the few unknowing people but will slowly try to help him when things get out of hand. Human AU, set in fifth grade primary school to 28 years old. Human names used. Rating will spread from K (in the beginning) to M.
1. Chapter 1

There he stood, in a hot summer afternoon, wearing a very long tan scarf that swallowed half of his face.

The new student was pale with silver-gray hair and dazzling purple eyes. He was taller and older than everyone else in the room. Probably repeated a grade or something. Just looking at him made all the kids sweat, not in fear, but because of thinking how he could handle the heat wearing a long sleeved (but thin) shirt and a scarf.

Everyone seemed allured by his presence and how he stood out from the others.

"Class, this is our new student." said their teacher- a lean built and tanned man, probably of Romance descent, "He's from Russia! Ain't that great?"

The class seemed uninterested. Everyone was unique, coming from different countries, though Slavics were rare. As far as everyone remembers, the only Slav they had was Feliks Lukasiewicz, the Polish girl..er crossdressing guy.

"Introduce yourself, big guy." smiled the teacher.

The pale Russian nodded cheerfully and turned towards the class. "_Privet_, my name is Ivan Braginski."

Suddenly, a hand shot up. Rome-sensei, figuring it was a question, let little Feliks ask a question.

"We didn't hear him." said Feliks plainly.

Rome looked at the young boy again and gestured, asking him to repeat again.

"_Privet_, my name is-"

"Still can't hear you." said a seemingly obnoxious albino, red eyes drifting to the window.

The Slav seemed upset. ".._Privet_, my name is Ivan-"

Rome-sensei intervened, placing a hand near Ivan's scarf. "How about you remove this-"

The whole class ran wild as the new student bit Rome-sensei's hand through his scarf.

And that's how Ivan Braginski became so famous within his first five minutes in class.

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da. ^J^**

**Anyway, they're fifth grade here and I made Russia maybe three years older than his classmates. Russia is also the tallest. Rome and Germania are two of their teachers.**

**Russia's scarf is still too big for him and it covers his mouth and nose, much like a face mask.**

Days passed and little Ivan became known to many as someone not afraid to be who he really was. It was like he forced everyone to adjust to him. He was not afraid to be different (or rather, 'weird' as they called him). They either love him or hate him, with more people hating or simply just being scared of him. Even Rome-sensei was a bit appalled by his odd behavior ever since the first day.

"Ivan.." the German teacher groaned, seeing the scarf-wrapped boy with his head slumped on his desk.

The Germanic man massaged his temple as he tried to shake Ivan awake. A breath away from touching him, a distinct eerie sound of 'kolkolkol' is heard from the Russian, even as far as turning the air around him purple with his murderous aura. And little Ivan wasn't even looking at him yet. Needless to say, most of his classmates were freaked out. Again.

However, even with his famous (or infamous) insanities, Ivan was a good kid in class. He listened (when he was interested or convenient for him) and never cut class. He never ever went as far as to throw away trash just to avoid disrupting the lecture. He was always present.

..Physically.

* * *

"I wonder why he wears a scarf-"

The young Latvian blond fainted as soon as he saw a pair of purple eyes ready to shoot lasers from his glare. As soon as he hit the ground, his Estonian friend simply screamed out "RAIVIS~!"

* * *

After some days, Ivan had a friend. A Chinese, named Wang Yao. He had offered him friendship so that he might have good connections with people (For business-oriented Chinese, good connections are a must.). But he became wary of him one day, going to school.

Yao was in a good mood, bowing respectfully as a greeting. Ivan became confused and reciprocated a gesture, thinking that it was how Asians greeted people. And now, it was his turn to greet.

With a kiss on the lips.

Even though the bottom part of his face was muffled by his scarf, most of the witnesses (since they were immature kids) put a deadly amount of malice to this scenery.

And so, Yao was ostracized from class.

So much for good connections.

* * *

Ivan rarely participated in Physical Education, except for chess. He was a natural. He beat even teachers at the game, which didn't really surprise everyone, considering that Slavics are good tacticians (or was it because of the air around him turning purple whenever he concentrates). There was one time, though, he was played chess against a computer, level 6. Everyone was betting on who would win.

The computer beat him.

And so, Ivan beat it in kickboxing.

* * *

Young Ivan lived a pretty lonely routine, going to school, get ignored, get talked about, go home, sleep and go to school again. This little loner lived alone and far away from most of his classmates. It was like he was going to end the school year without having a friend.

* * *

"Bye, Lilli!" waved a brunette Hungarian with flowers in her hair.

"_Auf Wiedershen, schwester_!" smiled a blond Liechtensteiner girl from Ivan's class.

Lilli Zwingli. Tiny, but beautiful and with finesse. Her hair was in soft braids, dainty braids, lively green doe eyes and flawless cream skin.

She rarely had any friends because of her overprotective big brother Vash Zwingli. And because of that, she wasn't allowed to interact with anyone except for Vash's friends and the girls from her class. However, apart from that, Lilli was a gentle and kind soul. She had many friends, some male, and was good at socializing. No one could ever say anything bad about her (and half the reason was fear for her gun-wielding brother Vash). She was many men's dream girl, but most men weren't so pleased of having to go through life with a trigger-happy brother-in-law.

And that was Lilli.

* * *

**Privet- (Rus.) Hi**

**Auf Wiedershen- (Ger.) Goodbye**

**Schwester- (Ger.) Sister**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.**

**btw, in (Hetalia Archives), Russia greets people with a kiss on the lips.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da. ^J^**

**And as you know, Peter Kirkland is Sealand and Johan is Ladonia.**

**Chapter 2: Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli**

"So, Lilli.." said Vash Zwingli, "I've heard that your class had a new student.

"_Ja._" said Lilli, setting the plates on the table, "His name is Ivan Braginski from Russia."

The elder Germanic choked on his soup. He coughed up a watery glob of spit and broth as a worried Lilli rubbed his back. After a few seconds, he regained his composure, with his voice throaty and hoarse. "..B-Braginski from Russia..?"

Lilli meekly nodded. "Why, _bruder_? Do you know him?"

Vash nodded, having a troubled look on his face. "Why is he on your class? He should be in mine. Or maybe in middle school."

"How about me, _bruder_? I should be in Peter and Johan's class, shouldn't I?"

"_Ja, ja_.. To save money, I had to accelerate you, remember?" asked Vash, "Anyway, about Braginski, don't talk, don't look.."

"..Don't glance or even come within ten meters near him. _Ja, ja, bruder_, I know.." frowned Lilli, "You've always told me that a million times."

Vash downed some milk. "But you never got into trouble by disobeying me, right?"

"_Ja, bruder_.." Lilli replied with a little less vitality. Sometimes, Vash would smother her with his strict principles but like most parents, it was for her own good. Lilli frowned as she stared at her reflection in the soup. The elder brother sighed. He knew her mind was growing faster than her body and yet, he still couldn't accept it.

"You know it's for your own good, right _schwester_?"

Lilli simply nodded.

"At this time, where the two of us are left, we can't afford to be careless."

Lilli's frown deepened with Vash's mention of their histories.

Vash Zwinglia and Lilli Eva Vogel weren't biological siblings. Both were good friends and neighbors before they were orphaned due to a fire. They grew up together with Vash's friend and rival, Roderich Edelstein, whose family had generously agreed to provide financial support for them until now. Throughout the years, Vash had showered her with all the attention and care she could ever need. He was her savior.

"..I know. _Danke schon, bruder_."

Vash simply nodded. "Eat up. You might get sick."

"_Ja_."

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain silverette was staring at his collection of _matryoshka_ dolls from Russia. One was in the fashion of a grumpy-looking grandfather. The second was made into a girl with the same head of platinum blond hair as him, carrying a loaf of rye bread. The third one was him, holding sunflower stalks and the last was an innocent young girl with dark, dirty blond hair in a bow, with a doll at hand. Ivan smiled warmly at the family as he talked to his dolls, role playing. A tear or two would streak his face as he buries his face in a pillow, hoping that everything will be alright.

And that they will one day reunite again.

* * *

Lilli sat alone in the library. Hardly anyone comes during library, except for the same few people she had come to memorize. She picked up an interesting piece of literature and was about to sit in her usual seat when she saw someone already beat her to it.

It was none other than Ivan Braginski, the new student Vash had warned her about. He was sitting on her favorite chair, probably reading, but with his face pressed against the book. Sleeping would be a more accurate description of his activities.

She also had noticed that there were lots of people standing. There were lots of vacant seats around Ivan. She frowned, thinking that it's either they're avoiding him or were scared that he would menacingly chant 'kolkolkol' again if someone had ever bothered his nap.

Lilli sure didn't want to feel the monster's wrath, but had no choice. But first, she made sure the distance. The seat farthest away from him was safe enough.

The blond pulled a seat and immediately, Ivan raised his head up like he was never asleep. Lilli froze.

".._E-es tut mir Leid,_ Ivan.." Lilli apologized, "Did I wake you?"

Ivan tilted his head in confusion. He didn't quite understand German.

"..I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

The Slav still continued giving her the same look- a bit airheaded, confused, but also innocent and child-like. She was sure he understood English.

"I'm sorry-"

Before she could punctuate, Ivan's purple eyes were smiling. She was sure it was a smile, even though she couldn't quite see the curve of his lips. "_Nyet_, I wasn't sleeping. Go ahead, sit."

Lilli smiled and helped herself, straightening the crease of her skirt. Suddenly, Vash came into her mind. _Don't talk._

Though feeling a bit guilty, Lilli frowned and tried to put a straight face while reading the novel of her choice. Ivan was still looking at her, amused.

"You look funny when you read."

The Germanic girl simply shot a glance and smiled. Ivan still continued to have the cheerful look on his face until she decided that it was enough and left her seat. Lunch time was almost over, too.

Meanwhile, Ivan still kept his eyes on her. He had a little nap and heard people gossiping about him, saying that they didn't want to sit anywhere near him. That made him very happy when Lilli decided to sit by him. Or maybe she was just clueless. Anyway, time to go back to classroom, he thought.

* * *

Lilli was troubled, packing her bags. Should she tell Vash that Ivan talked to her? No, that would be a pretty small matter to fuss about.

Anyway, Vash was out on a part time job, cleaning plates at Roderich's mansion and would probably eat supper there. She could still come up to Elizaveta, Roderich's arranged fiancee and maybe talk to her some time. And with that, Lilli made her way to her senior's classrooms.

The blond skipped up the stair steps only and asked about Elizaveta.

"She left with Roderich and your brother." said one of his brother's classmates, Arthur, "I presume he's left a message for you. I think he's sent it to either Ludwig or Gilbert."

Lilli respectfully nodded and as if on cue, Ludwig Beilschmidt, her classmate, came stomping up the stairs.

"Vash was in a hurry to leave and left this to _bruder_ at lunch." said Ludwig, handing her a book and a library card, "I should've given this to you earlier if it was just me who received the job and not Gilbert."

And as respectful as always, she replied 'It's okay' and thanking him afterwards.

"The library is about to close. Better hurry up." added Ludwig.

Lilli's hurried footsteps kept tapping against the silent background. Most everyone had left. For a moment, she glanced at a book. Something about Swiss army weaponry, things that her brother would read. While lost in thought, she almost tripped and leaned on the wall for balance. A bit of a shock, but she continued to the library.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! *^***

**Ja- (Ger.) Yes**

**Bruder- (Ger.) Brother**

**Danke Schon- (Ger.) Thank you**

**Matryoshka- (Rus.) Russian dolls that come in pieces of at least three where a smaller doll can fit inside a larger doll. (..Okay, even though with my shabby explanation, most of you had heard about or seen a matryoshka doll.)**

**Es tut mir Leid- (Ger.) I'm sorry (or at least that's what my German dictionary told me)**

**Nyet- (Rus.) No**

**a/n: Prussia is in the same grade as Germany because (..how do I put this in a non-offensive way..) he is too awesome. To be graduating already. If you know what I mean.**

**Anyway, in here, Prussia is one year older than Germany.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da. ^J^**

**Chapter 3: Locked**

Lilli swept through the corridors, hurrying. The school was going to close soon. Once spotting the library, she violently slid the door open and left it ajar, as a reminder that someone was still in there.

While dashing about, she came upon the desks and froze, hands over her mouth, stifling the gasp.

Once again, it was Ivan, sleeping face pressed against the textbook. Lilli felt a small shiver down her spine as she quietly placed the book on the table and opened up to the final page. With the book card in her hand, she was about to sign Vash's name when she remembered that her bag was still in their room. Lilli grumbled about the loss of resource and was about to go get her bag when she saw a small, silver pen underneath Ivan's sleeve. Lilli pondered about it. Going back to their room just to get the bag would take her longer than borrowing a pen from a sleeping classmate. And thinking about these things instead of acting on it was a similar waste of time. Swallowing up her fear, she pulled the pen slowly as not to wake him up until she had obtained the object of desire. No time to celebrate, she scribbled Vash's name, year and date returned. Now finished, she slid the card into the pocket taped on the book's hard cover.

Then, she tiptoed in the most quiet way and located the shelf where the book was originally kept.

Science books.

Mathematics books.

General knowledge..

Maps and graphs..

The blond shuddered, hearing something move. Probably, Ivan had noticed the time and that his pen was 'borrowed'. Lilli chose not to pay attention and simply returned to her search, hearing the door close.

Library all to herself. Good.

Language..

Mythology..

Social studies. Gotcha.

Not pleased that she saw fiction and cookbooks carelessly sandwiched in the social studies shelf, she simply removed a row of the outsiders (probably five books), leaving an empty space where she got to see a pair of shining violet orbs staring back at her.

"_Privet_."

"_B-bruder_!"

...

Ivan quickly rushed to her aid, picking up the books she had dropped. Lilli was still recuperating from her shock and tried to compose herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he sheepishly muttered. Do my eyes really look that scary..?, he thought.

Lilli simply nodded, still hyperventilating. Still carrying books, Ivan offered her his free hand, which she hesitantly took as he pulled her up with ease.

The blond wiped off the dust from her skirt. "I thought you left.."

"Huh, _nyet_, I didn't.." said Ivan, "Though I was half-awakened when I heard you grumbling about how you left your bag in the room.."

Lilli blushed. How could he have heard that?

"Do you..often take naps in the library?" asked Lilli, placing the book in between the empty spaces.

"_Nyet_. It was just today I've learned that there was a library." smiled the Russian, "Shall I return these books?"

"Oh, _nein_." said Lilli, "I'll do it. You should just..go home before the school closes."

"The school closes?" he innocently inquired.

The young girl stiffled a chuckle. "_Ja_, it does."

"But I can't leave you in here with all the prizrak." said Ivan.

"What's prizrak..?"

"Ghosts."

Lilli shuddered. "_N-nein_, please don't say that. There are no ghosts."

"Da, like the one standing behind you-"

The young girl flinched and ran behind the elder Russian male, who was laughing. "Just joking, there are no ghosts. But who knows.."

"Ivan..!"

The Russian male simply laughed and walked off with the books still in hand. Lilli blushed in embarrassment as she acted as a tour guide, telling him where to drop off the books. Even if she wouldn't admit it, Ivan was a big help..literally. She would never reach some of the shelves because of her height. It took a short five minutes to get all the work done. Without sharing anymore words, the two walked towards the sliding door with Ivan in the lead. Lilli's thin eyebrows crossed in confusion as a similarly confused Ivan rattled the door. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"Maybe you're opening it wrong." said Lilli, inspecting the situation.

"There's only one way to open a sliding door.. As far as I know." said Ivan, rattling the door again.

The two kept exchanging turns to slide it open until Ivan came to a small conclusion.

"Maybe the noise you heard was the janitor locking the door."

"_N-nein_!"

* * *

"I can get us out of here if you allow me to smash the door." Ivan proclaimed his _helpful _suggestion.

Lilli shook her head. "We'll pay for that, you know.."

The silverette frowned. "I think calling for help is the best thing we can do."

The young girl nodded weakly, her face paling at an extremely fast rate. Her companion didn't turn a blind eye on her.

"I know this is a silly question, but are you okay?" Looking at Lilli's unimproving condition, he frowned, ".._N-nyet_, you aren't okay."

Ivan knocked up the door once more. He continued his attempts to draw attention until Lilli herself stopped him by a gentle tug of his sleeve. Ivan wasn't one bit happy about a troubled friend.

Friend.

We're they friends yet..?

**Nein- (Ger.) No**

**Prizrak- (Rus.) Ghosts.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da? ^J^**

**Chapter 4: Friend**

Ivan watched helplessly as Lilli shed silent tears. It didn't help that Lilli was trying her hardest to hold it in and not appear weak. Vash had repeatedly told her not to show weakness to anybody. It wasn't good. Ivan was lost in his own flashbacks as well. He could still remember his sisters crying a lot. Especially their eldest sister, who was more like a mother to them. She would cry a lot about everything which had saddened the whole family. This led him to make a promise (a promise that would be very hard to keep) to preserve happiness in his family. Even at the own expense of his life.

Because their happiness is also his happiness.

"_Malysh_.." Ivan called out in a gentle voice. _Malysh_ was the only term he could call her. He hadn't fully known her yet, even if he sat a few seats behind her. "_Ei_, _malysh_.."

Little Lilli had stray hair from her braids strewn to her cheeks, adhered by the damp tear stains.

"Why are you crying?"

Lilli simply shook her head. Rule number two, never tell anyone about your secrets. They can use them against you.

"_Nyet_? Don't worry. I'm a friend." said Ivan, "..Well.. Friendly.. But nevertheless, a friend. Comrade. So can you tell me now? _Pozhalusta_?"

Her tears stopped. She didn't know if it was from the friendliness he was showing her or from something else. It was definitely the secure aura around them.

"My _bruder_. He's going to worry if I'm not there before he gets home." said Lilli in a cracking voice.

"Then he'll search for you, _da_?" asked Ivan with a smile, "And then he'll come here and see us-"

"But, if that happens.. H-he doesn't want me near males." Lilli sheepishly confessed.

"Then I can convince him that I am female."

The sudden unfamiliarity of his last sentence made Lilli grin and stifle a really large laugh. Laughing loudly wasn't something Vash taught him. Ivan similarly smiled in the process. "And if you think it's not such a good idea, I can just hide there, _da_?" asked Ivan, pointing at the counter.

"_Ja_, that's a better one." said Lilli, now lifted up of the heavy mood. Ivan's violet eyes were bright and happy.

"Am I your friend now?" asked Ivan.

"_Ja_." said Lilli without any hesitation. Ivan felt his face warm. He expected a polite 'no'..or a '_nein_', but this? He never thought this was _this_ easy.

Lilli stared at him confusedly. "Ivan, Ivan.." she frowned, waving a hand up to his eyes. It took him a few seconds to regain access to reality.

"A, sorry, sorry." said Ivan, shaking his head. Lilli gave him a questioning look. "Why do you hide your face in your scarf?"

The Russian cringed. He had hoped to survive the school year and not encountering that question, but he guessed was not possible. He couldn't dare to scare her off, not while in closed quarters, but it seemed it would still be hard for him to that, even when they would be surrounded by people.

"..You won't like it."

"But a friend is a friend." said Lilli, "I won't care whatever I see there. Just-Just let me look. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with your face.."

Ivan shook his head, shuffling away like a child. Lilli crawled nearer. One step back, one step nearer. One step back, one step nearer..

Two steps nearer..

Ivan leapt to his feet which signaled Lilli to run after him. This game of tag went along as the intimidated young Russian used every hide tactic he could use- agility, evasion, tumbling under tables and going back to the same place. Lilli was no longer holding back her laughter as she freely chased him around, not aware that he was slowly getting more and more freaked out.

The young girl never felt so alive as her braids swayed with her movements. The two disheveled the chairs and at one occasion, almost toppled a bookshelf. She ran and ran and ran until she could jump at him, but Ivan still had a trick up his sleeve and so, she tripped. She grunted and was sent tumbling down, face bent low and inspecting her knee. Ivan was hiding behind the safety of a desk, afraid. Seeing that Lilli had some damage of her own, the Slav forgot everything and went closer to tend to her.

"_Malysh_.. You still ok..?"

The young girl didn't budge but kept huddling onto her knee. When she felt Ivan's face get closer, she leapt up to grab his scarf, but instead, knocked up her head on his chin. Both reeled in pain, falling on their backs, adjacent to each other. Ivan's scarf was pulled down in the process, revealing the bottom half of his face. Seeing this, Lilli immediately stood up and turned to him.

She flashed a questioning look.

Now seeing the whole of his face, he had beautiful amethyst eyes that complimented the his features. Round face, prominent nose, a pair of thin lips and big ears. He looked perfectly normal, why was he hiding it?

"I thought I was going to see something different." said Lilli, a bit dismayed, "You look okay. You look very good! Many girls will like you, so why hide your face?"

Still lying down, Ivan frowned. "On the contrary, I wouldn't want many girls liking me." His violet eyes met her green ones. "You don't see anything..weird?"

Lilli shook her head. "Everything is normal, except on the bruise on your chin."

"Honest?"

"_Ja_. Everything is normal. Handsome. Perfect."

With renewed happiness, Ivan leapt up and held Lilli in a smothering hug and twirled around with her. "Ya, _spasibo_! You didn't laugh at my nose!"

"..Y-your nose..?! Why-" Looking back up him, Lilli knew what exactly he was talking about.

The Slavic nose.

She tried her best to hold her laughter and stop from giving further comments about the body part in question.

But deep inside, she liked it. She wouldn't have his face rearranged in any other way.

In all honesty, he would look more terrible if he was given a Germanic nose.

Lilli's fantasies about it was cut short when a maintenance man ran up and unlocked the door.

"Oh."

"What in the world are you kids doing here?!" growled the maintenance man. With the way things looked like, the two knew better than to stay. Their game of tag had caused enough noise and both stormed out and rolled down the hallway, grabbing their bags and escaping the building, leaving a huge mess in their wake.

They both ran as far as their legs could take them away and soon, all their youthful energy was used up and left them breathless.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow." smiled Lilli, sweating.

Ivan nodded happily. "_Da. Do svedaniya, malysh_. Do take care."

"_Ja, danke schon._" said Lilli, "_Auf Wiedershen._"

The two separated ways and skipped home until Ivan ran back to her and caught up.

"What, did you forget anything?" asked Lilli.

"_Da_.. Your name." said Ivan in between tired breaths.

Lilli blushed. "Ah, _ja_. Lilli. Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli."

Ivan's exhaustion didn't stop him from smiling. "Lilli like the flower.. Beautiful name.. Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli."

The young blonde blushed from the compliment. "_Danke schon,_ Ivan. I like your name, too."

A tired but happy Ivan Braginski slumped down in bed and glanced at his one row of matryoshka dolls on the side table.

"_Dedushka..Sestra_.." smiled Ivan, "..I'm happy today.. I found a friend."

* * *

**Malysh- (Rus.) child**

**Ei- (Rus.) hey**

**Pozhalusta- (Rus.) please**

**Da- (Rus.) Yes. Can also be used as an expression.**

**Spasibo- (Rus.) Thank you**

**Do svedaniya- (Rus.) Goodbye**

**Dedushka- (Rus.) Grandfather**

**Sestra- (Rus.) Sister**

**Guess who's Ivan's grandfather is. ^J^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da. ^J^**

**Ay, I forgot to tell you guys because this is my original story, this is supposed to be for a future manga (and I will owe you my life if you chose not to copy the story) and probably stretch to over...hmm..maybe a hundred plus chapters..? Nyet, I won't do that. I'll spare you from the torture and leave out the not-so-important things. So, 50 will be alright? Okay..da.. Back to the story!**

**Chapter 5: Weirdness**

Lilli sighed in relief, seeing that dear big bruder Vash was yet to arrive. She didn't have to worry about dinner. Surely, he would bring some food for Lilli.

After another hour, Vash arrived. He did bring some food and was completely oblivious of the previous happenings which Lilli refused to discuss.

* * *

Ivan smiled as he entered the room, his face not hidden by the large folds of the scarf. He was a bit confident from yesterday because of Lilli but the greeting he received was a galaxy away from what he expected.

A few seconds of stares and everyone but Lilli burst into obnoxious laughter. Ivan thought they found his nose funny and hurriedly fumbled with his scarf, concealing his nose. Their insults rang in his ears, resonating and slowly threatening to drive him insane as he shied outside the room. Lilli was staring at a shy Ivan who was too ashamed to even come in. Irritated, Lilli abruptly stood up and ran to his much taller friend.

"I knew they'd see it as weird.." muttered Ivan sadly, muffled by the clothing. Lilli frowned. "Nein, that's not it.. It's just.." Lilli knew that he wasn't one bit listening to her. Some classmates were still staring at them and the level-headed Lilli knew what to do.

"Why are you all laughing..?" asked Lilli, with a hint of sadness and irritation in her voice.

"N-nothing." said Gilbert, chuckling, "It's just that.."

"His nose?" asked Lilli once again.

"Well..we, um.."

"Listen, that's not one bit funny!" cried Lilli, even shocking Ivan. Lilli was much nicer yesterday.., he thought. "His nose may be different from ours, but it's because he's Russian! Everyone from different countries look different from each other, right? That doesn't make them funny, it makes them unique! Even a person without a nose does not deserve to be laughed at!"

The class stood silent. Vash had rubbed off some of his headstrong characteristics onto his sister. She did know how to make everyone realize their faults and make them feel guilty. And that is, as her brother had taught her, by direct confrontation. The shy Ivan simply shuffled back out of sight, a bit intimidated and more..appalled on how the young Germanic girl defended his Slavic qualities. Lilli simply pulled him into the room, pushed him into his chair and placed his scarf where it should be- below his chin. Lilli could see that Ivan was had a small smile on his face. Though it was not as lively as the ones from yesterday, it was still a smile.

"Spasibo." he muttered under his breath.

"Always welcome." smiled Lilli.

* * *

"Do I look like Pinocchio?" asked the Slav self-consciously.

Since Lilli and Ivan wouldn't be very comfortable in the library, Lilli had suggested to eat lunch on the rooftop. It was good that no one was around there but them and they both set down their lunches to eat.

"Nein, Pinocchio is Italian."

"..I meant the nose."

Lilli stared at her silver-capped friend, who unconsciously had his hand on his nose.

"Ivan, don't worry about that." she sighed, "It's not that big."

He let out a shy and self-conscious smile, some kind of 'thank you'. Lilli liked that look on his face. The innocent embarrassed blushes.

"So, Ivan, what did you want to talk about?" asked Lilli, opening her lunchbox.

Her Russian friend didn't quite register the question, instead paying attention to her well-made lunch. "Did you make that?"

"Ja." smiled Lilli, priding on her handiwork. Meatballs, grated carrots and a side dish of mashed potatoes on the side, all neatly arranged. "Would you like some?"

"Da." Ivan smiled, portioning a little of everything. "I have borsch-beet soup. And a sandwich.. That's all. Would you like some?"

Lilli nodded and helping herself with a spoonful of borsch. "This is good. Did you make it by yourself?"

"Da. I live alone, so this is all I can cook."

"You live alone?" Lilli's eyes widened, "Where are your parents? Your siblings..?"

"In Russia." Ivan replied, "..Well.. Dedushka is in Russia.. My older sestra is in Ukraina and my little sestra.. In Belarus. They separated when I left."

"But, why did you leave?" asked Lilli. Noticing the glum look on Ivan's face, she knew not to intrude other people's personal life. Rule number 3, never involve yourself too deeply in the affairs of others. They can always twist the truth and make them look more pitiful than they should be and you will feel sorry for them. They'll use your weakness and turn it against you. Or so she remembers from dear bruder Vash's lectures. "..Ivan? You don't need to answer if you don't want to."

Ivan forces a smile. A fake, emotionless smile. "..It wasn't my decision."

Yes, Lilli knew more than better not to bring up something that could stain his innocent, child-like face with pain. "Es tut mir Leid."

Something Ivan taught him yesterday was that the easiest solution to removing pain was to go rip it out from the root itself. It would be hard and painful, but at least it would slowly fade away, never to return again.

However, that was only for small ones, problems whose roots were just a hand breadth above the surface. Family problems were one of the worst kind, just like a tree whose roots are firmly anchored to the stones beneath the ground.

"If anyone treats you bad, tell it to me."

Lilli raised her head. ".._Was_?"

"If anyone bullies you, go ahead and tell me." said Ivan as he lay down the concrete floor, staring into the vibrant blue sky. "That thing you did earlier.. I'll remember it forever. And to be fair, I will protect you from anything that will hurt you. Even if it kills me."

The young girl smiled. "You sound like my bruder Vash." Lilli joined his companion and laid down on the cold concrete, arms cushioning her head. "But, Danke schon. We'll protect each other, ja?"

"Da." smiled Ivan, "Until we grow up. That's why I'm very tall. To protect you."

The young girl calmly felt the warm summer air around them. "Ivan, do you-"

Lilli was stopped, sensing something different about him that she couldn't put into words. His smile didn't contain their usual childish mirth. It was something intimidating. Lilli simply stared into Ivan's amethyst eyes as they darkened. "If they hurt you physically, I'll hurt them physically, too. If they hurt you emotionally, then I'll still hurt them physically and if they make you cry, I'll kill them."

The Germanic frowned. "No, Ivan, don't kill anyone."

"Maybe I won't. But if they don't back off after the first warning, I might not stop myself."

The young blond frowned, hearing cold, brutal words come out from the Russian effortlessly. He was little by little showing a dark side of himself.

**Was- (Ger.) What**

**Sorry for making them a bit OOC, but they're human kids, a bit different from the series. But they'll be more of the Hetalia characters when they grow up. (Well, Russia's creepy side is seeping out)**

**And the bullying part? Sorry 'bout that (I was thinking it was a bit too shallow, too.). When I was in fifth grade, a male classmate of mine was laughed at when he brought his mother's handbag with him. And when I was in my second year of middle school, a female classmate of mine was a bit bullied because of her overly large eyes. So, maybe kids get bullied about things like these are normal..?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da? ^J^**

**Chapter 6: Scarf**

Lilli felt the atmosphere around the classroom become more heavier. She could feel different pairs of eyes staring at her. She sighed, glancing at Ivan, who was asleep with his face pressed against his notebook, maybe leaving an imprint on his cheek later on. The blond shuddered. She knew that someone was really watching her.

Days came by and like every other ordinary day, Ivan and Lilli ate lunch together in the rooftop. One time, Lilli spotted five other students on their way to their place, planning to eat lunch. As soon as they spotted her Russian companion, they all turned to leave hurriedly. It seems that Ivan's fame knew no bounds. And what has been bothering her is that everyone seemed to love giving them the cold shoulder. Even the soft-spoken Baltic brothers and Feliks, who were her friends before Ivan's arrival, though she cannot blame him that almost all of her classmates had cut ties with her.

* * *

"Ivan-kun."

"Da?"

"I think everyone's been avoiding me."

Ivan stopped eating to focus more attention on his prized bestfriend. "..Everyone's avoided me ever since I came here. Even Rome and Herman-sensei.."

"I guess so. Do you want other friends?"

"I hope so, but I don't want them if I have to lose you."

Aw, such a beautiful comment. Lilli smiled a bit. "I'll go talk to them, then."

"Da, please do." smiled Ivan warmly.

Lilli was going to find out exactly what happened.

* * *

"Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened."

"What are you talking about?"

"Russian-kun told you to ask us that, didn't he?"

"..Nein." said Lilli, "I want to find out myself. I can't handle having to..well..stare at us in such a different way."

"Russian-kun never stares at you like he's going to kill you, does he?" Raivis Galante timidly asked.

"Nein, Ivan would never.." said Lilli.

"The truth is, that insane er..Ivan's not what you think he is." said Gilbert, "I think he's older than me or so.. Either way, I don't know how he ended up here."

Lilli frowned. "..Did something happen before..?"

The whole circle fell silent. Everyone was looking at communicating with each other through eye contact, probably asking 'Is it safe to tell her?'. Soon, after a few minutes of telepathy, each nodded in agreement and everyone looked up (..or down) to little Lilli.

"..We just don't like his nose." everyone said in unison.

The young Liechtensteiner simply stared at them with an unpaintable face.

..That was their reason..?

* * *

"Ivan.." Lilli called out. It had been a little late ever since she had last saw him. He never showed up after lunch and was not in the rooftop or library. "Ivan? It's me, Lilli."

No response.

Feeling a bit worried, she searched the upper floor. She couldn't come near dear bruder Vash's classroom, though. Her nimble soles made light steps down the staircase, still calling out for his friend.

"Rome-sensei."

The Italian teacher turned to his little and much adored student. "Yes, Lilli?"

"Have you seen Ivan?"

Rome slightly froze in his place. He had been a little less updated than the other students about her and the Russian's close friendship. "..Ivan Braginski..?"

Lilli nodded. Rome shook his head. "I'm sorry, bambina. I haven't seen him. I'll tell you once I do find him."

"Ja, danke schon, Rome-sensei.." Lilli smiled. Rome bid her good luck finding him. Then, he turned back, confused. "..What's a sweet little girl have to do anything about Braginski..?"

She made light, tripping steps across the hallway. "Ivan.. Ivan..?" She frowned, about to check her room only to stumble upon the worst case scenario- bruder Vash Zwingli.

"..B-bruder.."

Vash turned to his little sister. "Lilli, where'd you come from?"

"J-just finished talking to Rome-sensei.."

Vash nodded. "I'm going to Roderich's again. I'll be back before sundown. Go home early, okay?"

Okay, bruder, if I manage to find Ivan..

"..Ja, bruder. Come home early, too."

Vash smiled warmly. "Ja, schwester." Lilli remained in her place. As long as big bruder Vash hasn't disappeared yet, she couldn't run off.

"Have you seen Ivan?" she asked her classmates.

"Nein."

"Non."

"Nope, haven't seen him."

Lilli sighed. Maybe Ivan had left? She sighed, defeated. She could hardly believe he left without her.

The next day, he didn't come.

Nor the next day.

Or the next day.

A week had already passed and it was Monday. Everything was flowing smoothly like Ivan had never transferred. Lilli regained her old friends' attention. Though she was worried about Ivan, too. Maybe he was sick? Lilli remembered that there was no one to take care of him and was getting more anxious every day. After class, she proceeded to the school administration to ask about his address. Surely they had his records when he transferred.

"Ah, yes." said the management, "Russian-kun.."

Lilli fixed her doe eyes at the paper she was scribbling on, producing Ivan's address. "And I do believe this is his, too."

The braided blond's eyes widened at the sight of a very long tan scarf, rolled up neatly. "The maintenance man found this inside one of the pianos in the Music room. I think this is his."

Young Lilli was speechless. Maybe that's why he hasn't come back to school yet.

Ivan was napping underneath the covers, reviewing the few notes he had managed to copy. Maybe falling asleep in class isn't the best thing. Plus, why didn't the teachers wake him up?, he thought. About to flip the page, he was startled by a knock on his door.

No one ever knocks on his door.

Lilli stood in front of the door, whose paint has faded. It was silent to the point of creepiness. Mustering some courage, she knocked again, his scarf tucked neatly on her arm.

"No one's home!"

The young Germanic frowned. Obviously, Ivan was probably the only person in the world who'd use that tactic to keep people away.

"Ivan? It's me, Lilli. Open the door."

"Lilli? How'd you know this place?"

"I asked. From the school office."

Then, silence. She saw a head of silver-gray hair peek out from the window. She waved at him.

The door opened.

"Ivan, why were you-"

Lilli froze, pointing to a neck brace. "What's that?"

The Russian simply grinned, pointing to the stiff neckbrace he had worn before answering the door. "I don't know. I just wore it."

Lilli nodded. "..So, nothing's wrong?"

"Someone stole my scarf." frowned Ivan. No anger, no resentment. Just loneliness.

"I have it here." said Lilli, showing him the tan piece of clothing, "Someone hid it inside one of the pi-"

"Spasibo!" cried Ivan, snatching the piece of clothing and held it in a bone crushing embrace. She shuddered. If she was in the scarf's place, her spine would've snapped in half. "Oh, spasibo, Lilli, you're such an angel, my little sunflower!"

Lilli paled as Ivan now wrapped her extremely tight in his large arms.

At least her spine didn't snap. Yet.


	7. Chapter 7

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da? ^J^**

**Chapter 7: Behind Smiles**

"Oh, and you've brought porridge with you." smiled Ivan, now wearing the large tan scarf.

"Ja. I thought you were sick." said Lilli, ladling a large portion of porridge into his bowl. "You told me that you lived alone so I was worried."

"Nyet, I never get sick." said Ivan. He took a sip of porridge and his violet eyes shone. "The porridge is really good, though. I wouldn't mind having this everyday. Would you like some tea?"

Lilli shook her head politely. It was still very hot and not in the mood for tea. His house seemed cool enough, or was it just the lack of furniture that contributed to the temperature. His living room had nothing but a couch. No TV, no table, nothing. He had some shelves, though, filled with something that looked like photo albums and paperback novels written in Cyrillic. But one thing that mostly stood out was a cloth Russian flag pinned on the wall.

...

"Will you come visit again?" asked Ivan.

Lilli turned back. "Ja. I will." she smiled back. It was dark and the streets were empty.

"Take care." the Russian called out. Lilli gave back a smile as she skipped upon the asphalt. Her dainty footsteps echoed throughout the night. Lilli was blissfully aware of her stalker.

Through the road, Lilli could hear faint whispers and eerie sounds. She knew someone was following her. She picked up the pace and the footsteps became faster and louder. Tears welled in her eyes as she passed an alley. Hearing the sound of shoes scraping against cement, she stopped and turned around.

Nothing.

Lilli was panting in fear. She turned homewards and prayed for her safety.

* * *

The next day, Ivan Braginski returned after a week of absence, now wearing the scarf. He may have been used to stares but now, he responded to it by inspecting whose faces hid some guilt. He was not very happy about someone stealing his scarf.

One stare was all he needed to separate the thief from the others.

And he knew what to do about it.

He will befriend them and get his revenge afterwards.

Pretty decent plan.

Nah, but I'm too busy for that, he thought, smiling. Maybe when the right time comes.. He flashed a smile at the thief, to which he reciprocated with a weaker smile.

A guilty smile, that is.

...

"We could do our assignments together today." smiled Lilli. They were tasked to draw their favorite thing in a piece of bond paper.

The Russian simply forced out a smile. "Nyet, it's alright. I wanted to do it by myself, too."

Lilli put on a rejected frown. "Alrighty then. I wanted to make something awesome and show you, too."

"Then it will be a surprise. Surprises are the best."

**I'm sorry if this is shorter than the others. I'll make up to it in the next chapter. Thank you for everyone reading this.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: This is my own version of an original story of mine, loosely based on the old old movie 'Three Faces of Eve'. Please no plagiarism, da? ^J^**

**Chapter 8: New Friends and Rivals**

It wasn't very new that the whole class kept their stare at Ivan Braginski, but to see him with some friends was some sort of..unnerving.

"..Toris, Ed and Raivis.." muttered Alfred, "..became friends with Ivan overnight..?!"

"Oh, my dear Toris!" shrieked Feliks, pulling the brunette Lithuanian boy to his side, away from Ivan. Violet eyes bored holes into the Polish kid's face. After all, no one wants to have a friend taken away from like that.

"What's wrong with you, Feliks?" asked Toris, freeing himself from his grip.

"What's wrong with.." his voice trailed, "What's wrong with _you_! You're, like, the one whose sticking around with Ivan the Terrible, duh. Or have you forgotten that?"

The Russian cringed. Ivan the Terrible?

"No, Feliks, he isn't as terrible as you think. He's a good guy." smiled Toris.

"Yeah, he invited us to his home yesterday to do our assignments!" Raivis cut in, "He lives alone, so he's a little lonely."

"You?! His place?! Without me?!"

Eduard von Bock sheepishly nodded. "..Well, yes. He could only manage to fit three people in his house 'cuz it's super small. When he opens the refrigerator, it feels like he's opened a high-tech airconditioning system!"

Slowly, Feliks became more and more defeated. He curled his lip and green met violet.

"Well, in that case, don't come running back to me!" the Pole huffed, storming away. The Baltic brothers groaned. Toris came after him.

"I'll be back. Sorry about that. It's just, he's always like this."

"I will get used to it." said Ivan in an emotionless manner. Eduard and Raivis went back to their respective seats.

"By the way, who gave me the 'Ivan the Terrible' nickname?" he called out.

"Oh, that?" said Eduard, "Lilli did."

Violet eyes turned wide. "..Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli?"

"Yep." said Raivis, "Vogel-san is smart and has a pretty good sense of humor. She didn't call you that?"

"Nyet."

Lilli? Lilli was the last person he expected to have given him a nickname. He wondered, why wasn't she here yet? Ivan stared longingly at the empty seat, wishing that she'd arrive sooner or later.

Their homeroom teacher, Rome-sensei came in and started taking their attendance.

"Gilbert?"

"Present."

"Ludwig."

"Present."

"Eduard?"

"Present."

"Ivan."

.

.

.

"..Ivan."

.

.

.

.

"..Ivan..?"

Ludwig groaned, glancing at an absent-minded Ivan. "Present."

"M-hm, present.." said Rome, scribbling on a log book. "..Physically."

Ivan could hear some familiar names he heard everyday. Jones, Nguyen, Vargas, Williams..

"Zwingli?"

The Russian's ears twitched a bit.

"Zwingli? Not here?"

"..Not here yet, da." he muttered.

The large Italian frowned, scribbling the words 'absent' next to Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli. It was the first time she was absent. And the first time Ivan Braginski looked so..lonely?

Throughout the whole class, Ivan's conscious was drifting away (And then again, since when did he become focused in class?). Could something have happened to her?, he thought.

"So, class, did you do your assignment?" asked Rome-sensei, snapping Ivan out of his musings.

Everyone replied positively and the teacher ordered them to pass them to the front. Ivan silently reached out of his bag and removed a thin piece of bond paper inserted in between his books. He frowned at his drawing. It was pretty nostalgic.

Draw your favorite thing, he said.

Ivan was pretty excited to take a look at Lilli's drawing.

"Hey, what's that?" asked the blond Alfred Jones, who had a bad habit of sticking his nose where it doesn't belongs (e.g., Arthur Kirkland's home cooking). Out of impulse, Ivan snarled at him, hiding his drawing into his bag again. The dense American was a bit shocked from the attack, but managed to get a glimpse of a penciled drawing.

"Hey, it's Lilli!" yelled Alfred. "Ivan drew Lilli!"

"He did? Eeee~.."

Ivan continued smiling, mumbling in Russian (which were most likely swear words) as Alfred announced that Ivan's favorite thing was his best friend. The whole class giggled, getting the wrong impression that Ivan had a crush on Lilli (fifth-grader minds) and teased him in a not-so-nice way. Somehow, he was glad that she was absent.

"Calm down, Ivan.." he muttered in his native language, "..You're perfectly fine..Anger is temporary insanity..You don't fix a problem by being insane..Russians don't fix problems with insanity..You don't kill people with insanity..kolkolkolkol.."

Alfred's smile disappeared, shuffling away. Nothing good ever happens when Ivan's 'warning bell' tolls.

* * *

And because of the recent happenings, Ivan tried to isolate himself from the class. The Baltics accompanied him out of compassion and Feliks Lukasiewicz constantly kept his eye on the Russian, tormenting him whenever he can.

"Do you know where Lilli lives?" asked Ivan, making a castle out of his notebooks.

The Baltics simply grinned at him, having childish red faces. Ivan simply stared at them coldly. It was a threat- not a come-on.

"..I-I've managed to pass by there, but I hardly remember." Raivis stuttered, "..But I think Gilbert knows.."

"Gilbert Beills.." mumbled Ivan, unable to get his surname right. "..The other German boy, da?"

"Gil is Lilli's cousin! Of course he knows!" called out a loud and obnoxious voice. That particular voice that made the Russian hiss as his three-tier castle of notebooks crumbled down. If he thought that he had caused enough trouble for one day.. No, he hasn't.

"Alfred!" Eduard blurted out.

Though Ivan was a bit appalled from the fact that the blond American was eavesdropping on them (and destroyed the notebook castle he worked hard on), he acknowledged his presence. He looked like he was going to offer some nice piece of information in exchange for the 'injuries' he's caused him this day. He looked like he was a nice friend, too.

"Gilbert is Lilli's cousin?"

Alfred nodded vigorously. "I knew it, you totally like Lilli-"

The American stopped abruptly when Ivan directed a pair of cold violet eyes at him. Ringing his 'warning bell' one time a day was enough.

Alfred gulped. "W-why? You wanna go to Lilli's house? Dude, that's not a good idea."

...

The platinum blond had his fingers tangled in his alabaster hair. He definitely knew what he liked and didn't like. "First of all, it's Gilbert Beilschmidt. Say it. Say my awesome name."

"Gilbert Beil..schmidt." mumbled the Russian. He always had some trouble with pronunciations.

"Good." said Gilbert, "I hardly know the address, but I know where it is. It's just a small distance away from here."

Ivan stared as Gilbert scribbled on a piece of paper, producing a hardly understandable collection of geometrical figures. It took him barely two minutes to finish the map, so the outcome wasn't surprising. The Slav stared at the paper for a few good seconds.

"What is this-"

"It's a map created by the awesome me!" yelled Gilbert, making Ivan wince. "Now listen, here's the school-"

"It's a box-"

"Ja, but it's also the school!" the German roared, pointing to a crooked square in the middle, "And I thought Russians were logical."

"I don't see anything logical about that box.."

"Ja, ja, I don't care! Now see! This is the school!"

Ivan simply nodded. He would be deaf in an hour.

"You turn right, walk up and turn right." instructed Gilbert, "And a few steps more, you can see this wooden white house."

Though still confused, he still nodded.

"I'll be nice and write some directions in the bottom, too." said Gilbert, scribbling 'directions' as he called it. Gilbert would be a good doctor someday..

"Get it?" said the albino, shoving the piece of paper to him. "If Vash hasn't removed it yet, you might see a 'Beware of Brother' sign taped on the front gate."

"Who's Vash?" asked Ivan.

* * *

"Braginski!" yelled a blond bob-cut man, holding a rifle. Ivan shifted on his feet, gripping a lead faucet pipe. Plus, how did he know his name? Lilli must've told him. He smiled at the thought. The curve on his lips was contrast to his body language. His gloved hands gripped the lead pipe tightly, either having fun or wanting to smash something, like the rifle he was holding. Of course he wouldn't smash Lilli's brother. Why would he do that?

"Get the fuck out of my territory!" cussed Vash, pulling the trigger. The whole neighborhood dropped whatever they were doing and shifted their attention to the young gunman. Ivan made some sort of Michael Jackson move and evaded the shot. He didn't know that Vash was going to pull the trigger for real. Vash continued to shoot continuously, calculating the distance for precise effect. The Germanic blond was tempted to directly shoot him in the head, but he couldn't. He was just scaring him off. He wouldn't kill him. He didn't want to go to jail, seriously.

"Just wanna ask why Lilli was absent, da.." said Ivan, dodging the bullets.

"No, you will never touch my sister!" yelled Vash, still shooting, "Switzerland and Liechtenstein will remain neutral and never be under communists!"

"If you're neutral, why are you shooting?" asked Ivan without a care in the world. "And plus, you aren't a country and you're definitely not neutral, da.."

Vash's bullets embedded themselves deep into the wooden fences. The front yard was littered with empty metal shells and the like. Neighbors decided against watching their late afternoon shows and settled for live action.

After a few games of hide-and-shoot, Vash ran out of bullets and Ivan was able to come near, still menacingly gripping the pipe. The Swiss backed away with each step.

"I was just asking why Lilli is absent. Is she sick?"

Vash gritted his teeth. No doubt he was larger than him. And he had that scary faucet pipe that looked like it was recently pulled out of the ground. Where'd he get that?

"Big bruder, are you shooting squirrels again?" a young, feminine voice called out.

"Lilli!" Ivan gleefully exclaimed.

Grabbing the chance to protect his sister, Vash grabbed his gun and hit the Russian hard in the head.

**So..how many people did Ivan meet today? There's Ed..Toris..Raivis..Feliks..Alfy..Gil..and most of all, dear big bruder Vash.**

**One of the reasons this is rated M is because of Vash's language.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 9: Big Bruder Vash**

"Neeeeeein!" yelled Vash Zwingli, cradling the broken gun in his hands. Contrary to what he thought, his rifle broke into two as soon as it hit Ivan's hard skull.

Well, he is Russian after all.

Lilli was worriedly examining Ivan, asking questions whether he was alright or not. Ivan smiled reassuringly, saying that his head hurt a bit. Vash kept mulling over his broken rifle. It was going to cost a damn large amount of money for another gun.

"I'm sure that's not my fault.." muttered Ivan, seeing the gun broken into two.

"SHUT UP!" the Swiss roared. Lilli simply smiled an apology and pushed Ivan into the house.

* * *

"I told you not to go near him!" cried Vash. Ivan kept grinning at Lilli's brother in an annoying way. Ivan was a year older than him and he felt an air of superiority.

Reread in Ivan's thoughts; He had the right to annoy him whenever he wanted.

"But bruder, he's a friend now." said Lilli pleadingly, "Plus, he only came to ask why was I absent."

"Ja, but..!" Vash gripped his hair like he wanted to rip it apart. "..Why the hell does he have a faucet pipe?!"

"Because Gilbert Beirdschm..." Ivan stopped, getting tongue-tied, "Gilbert told me that I would need it. It's not illegal to walk around carrying a faucet pipe, da?"

Vash facepalmed. Walking around with a faucet pipe wasn't really illegal, but carrying deadly weapons was. And that lead pipe can be a deadly weapon, hence, it _is_ illegal. But, he couldn't tell him that. Nothing was more illegal than shooting an insane..er, innocent (maybe not so innocent) student bystander who had just stepped foot in his lawn. Well, that could easily count as trespassing for Vash, but still..!

"And you even tried shooting me, da?" added Ivan, "That's more illegal."

That was exactly what he thought.

"So, Lilli, why were you absent?" asked Ivan.

The young blond girl set a plate of buttered toast in front of him. "I didn't wake up early enough."

"Oh.."

"Now you have an answer, get out." said Vash, irritated.

"Can't I just eat some bread?" Ivan fixed his violet eyes at Vash. He was enjoying himself very much. The couch was comfortable, the buttered toast was nice, they had TV.. Forget TV, annoying Lilli's brother was better entertainment. Especially when Ivan took the longest time possible to eat a slice of buttered toast. Vash was glaring lasers at him. Lilli was a bit worried about the situation. She wanted to go to the bathroom, but something might happen in her absence.

"So, Lilli, how many times a day does _brat_ Zwingli get angry?"

The said man almost crushed the remote control.

* * *

After two hours of talking, laughing and annoying Vash, Ivan decided to go home.

"Do svidaniya, Lilli." smiled Ivan waving goodbye. The girl in braids smiled back and waved. "Take care, Ivan."

Turning to the infuriated Swiss, he added, "Do svidaniya, _brat_ Zwingli."

"Don't call me that." growled Vash.

"Thank you for the hospitality.." grinned the Russian, "I will make sure to visit some time."

Vash Zwingli facepalmed at the last sentence. Ivan was a real headache and the Russian himself was not ashamed to admit it. His brain was bleeding from the last two hours.

Ivan skipped merrily on the way home. People were eyeing him with nasty stares, puzzled on why he was carrying a lead pipe.

He was about to make a right turn when he heard a faint noise, becoming louder and louder until it formed the syllables of his name.

"BRAGINSKI!"

"Ah, privet, Zwingli-"

"DID YOU JUST FUCKING RIP OUT THE FAUCET PIPE FROM MY BACKYARD?!"

* * *

**Brat- (Rus.) brother**


	10. Chapter 10

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: ****Lien is Vietnam, Mei is Taiwan, Chelle (Michelle) is Seychelles. Enjoy. ^J^**

**Chapter 10: Winter**

Time flew by quickly.

Lilli wowed at the snow that had piled up in such a short amount of time in front of the school building. The glistening white frost was such a wonder to look at, but it can also be of inconvenience. It was a relief that she had arrived before it had rained snow. Maybe classes would be suspended today..

"Privet, Lilli..!"

The young Germanic girl looked at the direction where the familiar voice came from. She waved, but the unusual sight of him made her lose energy and retract her hand.

"..Ivan?"

The Russian was walking up to her on tall bamboo stilts. There were lots of strange things about him today. Well, he was strange everyday, but today.. Aside from coming to school on stilts, he wasn't wearing a coat. Just his plain white button-up he wore everyday along with the tan scarf. And the stilts... He was using them like it was simply a part of his body. He had his lead faucet pipe on one hand, and she knew what he was doing was harder than it looked.

Ivan stepped off his stilts and landed his shoes on the concrete steps, away from the snow. "I found these in my neighbor's garden! I borrowed it."

Lilli smiled shyly. Ivan had a pretty bad..habit of always looking at the other side of the fence. If that wasn't bad enough, he liked borrowing (or sometimes, stealing) the strangest things from them. She could still remember the shock when Ivan had ripped off their faucet off their backyard. After Vash's 'convincing', he planted it back and bought his own. Or so he said, because Ludwig was fretting throughout the whole month about someone stealing his faucet pipe. Anyway, a lot of things had happened in just a few months. She dressed up as a witch in their Halloween party while Ivan..he just went as himself, telling everyone that he was dressed as a plumber..well, because of the faucet pipe. She and Ivan carved some empty pumpkin shells and placed it in front of their yards. Vash had warned people not to trick-or-treat at their place and when bratty kids failed to heed their warning (and started banging on their door), their front yard almost turned into a mini-Vash vs. Zombies field.

"Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

"Because it's not cold."

Lilli's brows furrowed. "..Not cold?"

"Nyet. This is just like spring in Russia."

The Germanic nodded. She had heard of how cold Russian winters really are.

"Ja, let's come in. We should start making decorations."

"Da." said Ivan, carrying his stilts.

And now, they were preparing for the Christmas party, which was maybe three days from now. Lilli ushered him in the empty classroom. They could start making colorful paper chains, too.

* * *

"Like this?"

"No, a little bit lower..?" a shy, silent voice suggested.

"Eduard, what do you think?"

Matthew Williams half-smiled. It seems that he wasn't heard again. Eduard adjusted his glasses and figured out the proper distance. Ivan was stepping on the bookshelf and trying to mark the place to plant a nail for the paper streamers. Someone from middle school who was rumored to be good at things like this volunteered to plant the nails for them. And it seemed like he wouldn't concede on letting fifth graders play with carpentry tools.

"A bit lower." said Eduard. The Canadian in the background shyly frowned. That was exactly what he said..

Ivan nodded and marked an 'X' with a red crayon on the said space.

"Good. Now get down ther'."

The Russian jumped down the bookshelf and a blond Swede took his place with a nail in between his lips. The rest of the fifth graders stared in awe as he skillfully hammered the nail in perfect place.

Lilli was with the other girls, helping them to make colorful paper ornaments. Lien and Mei made beautiful paper florets and Chelle made paper bows. Everything was coming to pieces. Ivan knew he was going to be part of the cleaning team after class, too, so he decided to just sit down and read a book. It kept him from damaging things, too.

"These papers are mine, da ze!"

"Shut up, aru! And you, stop coloring those snowflakes pink!"

"Wha- Oh, excuse me, these are _my_ snowflakes-"

"From _my_ papers!"

"Oh, c'mon boys, stop fighting!" yelled Lien Nguyen. Yong-Soo was snatching his bond papers from China (which he had asked permission to use), who was also reprimanding Feliks not to color the snowflakes pink. Yao simply nodded and went back to work. But when the Korean bawled, he was forced to lose his temper again. Soon, others joined the argument. Alfred told Yao how shabby the snowflakes looked and that he knew nothing about them since it doesn't snow in China. Yao snapped at him otherwise (It _does_ snow in China) and started having a contest. Gilbert told them to 'step back and watch as awesome Gilbert makes a perfect snowflake' but sadly, Yong-Soo jumped up on him, yelling that he hasn't asked permission yet. The bond paper Gilbert was holding ripped and Yong-Soo made a claim which furthered the squabble.

"Since it's damaged, it does not belong to Yong-Soo."

Gilbert and Yao exploded. Lien had to jump in and break them apart. Ivan and the other girls simply stared at the fight. The Russian held a piece of paper on one hand and scissors on the other and started snipping. The other kids who were once fighting stopped to stare at him as he quietly made a beautiful, lacy-looking chain of snowflakes.

When he started to feel a bit uncomfortable about the eyes staring at him, he blushed shyly.

"..I'm Russian, so I know all about snow."

"THAT'S MY BOND PAPER!"

And the cycle continues.

* * *

After that, he gaped at the classroom.

No good snowflakes left.

Crumpled paper balls everywhere.

There was even cookies and empty juice boxes underneath the tables.

The cleaning team (or the boys who hadn't done much) braced themselves.

And for some others, 'bracing themselves' meant 'escape'.

"Sorry, dude, gotta go home before the snow piles up!" yelled Alfred and Gilbert, rushing out with their bags.

"H-hey, that's not fair..!" a flustered Feliciano Vargas cried, running after them. He looked like he wasn't going back, too. Ludwig facepalmed as usual, walking up the door. The only ones left to clean were the shy Canadian boy and him. Matthew was kind enough to bring two brooms and gave the other to him.

"Guess we should start now, right..?" smiled Matthew.

"Da." he smiled back. He was more mild-mannered and reserved than his twin, he thought. Ivan swept the dust and empty packagings from under the chairs. They simply left the trash from their lunches here, since they knew it was going to get real dirty anyway. Where was Ludwig? He was going to help us, right? Sighing, he tried to get rid of a certain crumpled ball of colored paper and shoved it away with his broom. A waste of paper.

Matthew turned his spectacles on the hardly noticeable weight that ran onto his trouser leg. A paper ball.

The Russian was occupied with his own business when he realized a scraping sound on the floor. Matthew was enjoying himself, dribbling the paper ball with his broom, dodging the scattered tables and finally, shoving it towards the trash can. He knew what that was.

A small second of eye contact was all they needed to commence their little game.

Lilli was walking down the hallway when she heard some sort of commotion in their room.

"Ivan?" she called out, walking towards the doorstep.

Immediately, she dodged before a paper ball hit the place where she once stood.

"_Izvini_!"

"..Sorry.."

She was a bit shocked from the attack, but was more shocked at the room. It was more cluttered than before when they left.

"We were playing hockey.."

"And we need a goalie.."

* * *

"Look, a bear!"

"Where?"

"N-nein, Matthew, don't!"

_Swish._

"4-5!"

"W-what?! That's not fair!"

"This is how we win games in Russia!"

"What the hell are you three doing?!"

The three turned to a tired Ludwig, dragging a crying Feliciano by his collar. Feliciano had two brooms in hand.

"Uh..playing hockey?"

* * *

"Feliciano! Defense!"

"Ve~, oh no!"

"Italian defense, da-"

"Caught you!"

"N-nyet!"

Ludwig and Feliciano formed a team against Matthew and Ivan, both experienced hockey players. The score was 2-14, respectively. With Ludwig having the paper ball and ready to strike, it looked like it was going to be a 3-14.

"Privet, Rome-sensei!"

"What?"

As expected, all the players turned to the door, thinking that Rome-sensei was there and Ivan managed to steal the ball.

_Swish._

2-15.

Ludwig yelled, annoyed while Ivan and Matthew kept laughing their heads off. Lilli was enjoying being the almost non-existent goal keeper. She prepared them for another game as she flung the paper ball towards the boys.

But the important thing was that cleaning the room was the last thing on their minds.

**Izvini- (Rus.) Sorry**


	11. Chapter 11

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**a/n: ****I've read in deviantart (from bluestorm369, the awesome creator (but not as awesome as Prussia) of Hetalia Nation Child) that Bella Peeters is Belgium's human name. And a possible name for Netherlands is Govert. Hence, I named Netherlands Govert Peeters.**

**Vladimir is my human name for Romania. Iceland is Emil, Norway is Sigurd.**

**Chapter 11: Winter Games**

Vash Zwingli groaned, seeing a familiar Russian he loathed waiting on his doorstep.

"Dobroe utro, Zwingli! I'm here to pick Lilli up!"

The Swiss eyed the package Ivan was holding. A red wagon. He was about to ask when Lilli excitedly burst out the doorstep, knocking him off.

"..E-es tut mir Leid, bruder!"

"Go home before 3!"

"Ja, bruder." said Lilli, positioning herself in the red wagon. "Auf Wiedershen!"

Vash waved, face crumpled as Ivan pulled the wagon like there was hardly any weight there. Lilli raised her hands gleefully, enjoying the ride like she was in a roller coaster. She had never even rode a roller coaster before. Ivan grinned, sitting next to Lilli inside the red wagon. They were about to approach the soft downhill slope.

"I don't think big bruder would-"

"I've done this many times."

Lilli latched herself onto Ivan's waist tight when they descended like a comet down the concrete sidewalk. The Russian skillfully maneuvered themselves while Lilli kept her screaming to a minimum. They kept rolling down until their travel became slower and slower, stopping a small distance away from their destination- the park.

Lilli jumped off the wagon and were greeted by some of their classmates.

"Braginski!" yelled Alfred. Some of them snickered when they saw Lilli and Ivan together again. One glare was all he needed for them to stop. Lilli was approached by Elizaveta and her other female classmates.

"Where's Vash?"

"He didn't want to come." said Lilli.

"Since when did he come?" growled Gilbert. "We've been doing this for five years already. You should've known him enough to know that already, kesesese..."

Elizaveta was just a breath away from hitting Gilbert with her bag. His cocky intonation plus his German accent.. Infuriating.

...

"They have winter games?"

Matthew nodded. "Every year in this place. They choose some players in fifth and sixth grade together with middle school. There's figure skating, though not many participate. The hockey battles and snowball fights are very intense. Maybe I'll get picked this year."

Ivan grinned gleefully. "That would be good. Let's join, da?"

"Let's just watch for now. They use the rink there for the sports. The lake is used for practice. Teachers first make sure that there's no thin ice."

A team of six middle-school students, known as the Nordic 5 plus an intimidating Dutch boy, readied themselves for a round of hockey. Another two of Roderich's classmates, a Romanian and Arthur were called on to the team. Matthew and Ivan were placed in the bench as substitutes. Their opponents were some kids from the other school.

Rome-sensei once again stood referee and blew his whistle.

Ivan watched and Matthew stood open-mouthed. It was more intense than he thought. There were much pushing and tackling and...cussing as the puck moved from one team to another. With a swift rush and a flick of his stick, the Dutch, Govert Peeters, scored the first goal.

Matthew shot a glance at Ivan. "What do you think about him?"

"I think his scarf is nice."

A cute girl with curly blond hair kept cheering wildly for him. "Go, bruder!"

"Eh, she's his sister? They don't really look alike." said Alfred, sneaking in between the two substitutes.

"Well, some brothers don't even look alike." said Matthew. "Like Gilbert and Ludwig."

"Saying something?" asked Gilbert, sandwiching himself in between the three.

"We were just talking about how you and Ludwig don't look alike, dude." said Alfred, squirming for some space.

"Well, I'm much more awesome than him." said Gilbert, "And handsome, too."

Alfred and Matthew flashed a conflicted face. Gilbert fumed. "Luddy, come here!"

The blond German groaned. "What now, bruder..?"

"Ah, look, the Italy twins!" grinned Gilbert, spotting the two brunettes following Ludwig. "Come here!"

Gilbert offered Ludwig, Feliciano and Lovino seats next to him[. Soon, two sixth graders, Francis and Antonio came to sit with Gilbert for a better view. And because they were squished together in the bench, chattering, the largely unnoticed Ivan Braginski was already fuming, unable to focus on the game. Using clear thinking, he knew better than to stay. He went to the frozen lake (the practice area Matthew told him) and saw some of his classmates on ice, skating, flailing and some falling face flat. Lilli was one of those trying hard to keep her balance, aided by Elizaveta and Roderich side by side.

"Lilli, stay still, okay?" said Elizaveta, letting go of her hand. Roderich did the same and Lilli was left, trying to keep her balance.

"..T-then, what..?"

"Put one foot in front," instructed Roderich, "And use the other to glide."

Sweating, Lilli tried to carry out instructions. When she tried to glide her foot over, she lost her balance. Before they could punctuate their gasps, the Russian immediately caught her before she fell.

"Ivan!"

Elizaveta and Roderich sighed in relief. Ivan held both Lilli's arms and skated all the way to her two guardians. He wasn't even wearing skates.

"Danke schon, Ivan." smiled Lilli, now in Elizaveta's arms. Ivan nodded and was about to go back, when he lost his balance himself and fell on his face, much to his embarrassment. Toris and Yao, who were watching afar, helped him stand.

"How about you go get some skates.." smiled Toris, lifting the massive Russian up.

...

After getting some skates, he turned to join everyone, especially Lilli. He spent a bit of time of teaching her the basics, but everything was alright. There were no more falls, flails or anything.

"Braginski!" Alfred called out, frantically waving his hand, "First aid!"

"What first aid?"

"Y-you have something like a faucet pipe, right?! Go get it! Someone's broke a leg! No more questions!"

The Russian's brows furrowed. Faucet pipe? What does his pipe have to do with.. Ah yes. When in doubt, to avoid panicking, make sure whether the patient is dead. Okay..

Ivan skated and removed his skates as once he reached the snow. He rummaged his wagon for his faucet pipe.

He rushed over to the panicking American. Unfortunately, someone had _accidentally_ knocked up Tino and broke his leg. The bone from his leg.

"So, the bone was sticking out from his leg-"

"Don't say it!" yelled Alfred. He had always hated horror movies and Ivan was slightly enjoying his reaction.

Not slightly, he was definitely having fun.

"You know, I once had an injury like that. The skin from my foot was so..how do you say..damaged that you can see my veins-"

"Shut up, man!" Alfred shuddered, "I just finished eating my spaghetti!"

"From Feliciano the Italian? I believe in Sardinia- a place in Italy- they have Cazu Marzu. Cheese with maggots-"

"Dude, freaking people out isn't a national pastime!"

"Da, I know.." smiled Ivan, flinging his lead pipe as he walked.

Tino Vainamoinen was surrounded by people on both teams. He was on the brink of tears, seeing a shrapnel of his bone break his skin and stick out from his leg. It was a compound fracture. His Nordic 'brothers' were making sure he was awake. Mathias Kohler placed his leg on a stack of clothing and Berwald Oxensterrnia placed some ice. Sigurd Bondhevik and Emile Steilsson took turns on using a hockey stick as a splint.

This may be an unofficial match, but it still meant a lot to them. Matthew was the only substitute who was bound to even score against the others. Maybe the other team would win by default. Ivan and Alfred arrived on the scene.

"I have a splint-"

"What are you doing?! Get in there!" Rome-sensei said, pulling Ivan and making him wear Tino's uniform and protective clothing. The Italian ushered all the other Nordic players while medical assistance arrived. Berwald offered to stay behind.

"Don't worry. I'll be okay." Tino smiled at his brothers. Turning to his replacement, he smiled. "Good luck."

"Get well.." Ivan responded, slipping on Tino's skates, which was probably a size smaller than his feet. The whistle blew and all the game continued. Ivan froze.

He wasn't holding a hockey stick, but his faucet pipe.

It will have to do.

The puck slid past him and he joined the chase. All the senior players seemed to be a tad more..determined to win the game. Most probably because they wouldn't forgive that dirty cheater who had injured Tino.

The seniors were all-out offensive, especially the Nordics. Their Viking lineage was revealing their fiercer side. Even Vlad and Arthur were taking the game more seriously. Ivan and Matthew tried their best to keep up. And one time, Matthew successfully stole the puck away from the other team (being invisible sure was helpful). But then, he had eight players hot on his trail. Fearing that they might hurt him, he passed it to Arthur, who passed it to Mathias and finally passed it to the one nearest the goal- Ivan.

A bit nervous, he fumbled with the pipe, had trouble catching the puck and swung his faucet pipe like a golf club to shove the puck into the goal. However, from the speed he was going, he wasn't able to stop and crashed into the plastic walls of the rink. Five bystanders had to act quickly and support the wall before it fell. The goalkeeper was a bit too shocked to react.

At least they scored.

4-5.

The other players cheered for the young Russian, but the coach from the other team said that it was unfair. Removing a player out of our team was more unfair, Ivan thought, but he couldn't get in a fight with the referee..

"What now..?!" yelled Rome-sensei, thrashing towards the opponent coach. Herman-sensei held him by the arm to stop him. The opponent coach simply sighed.

"He's using a faucet pipe."

And so, that goal was deemed invalid. But Ivan's teammates weren't one bit shaken. Full support.

The game commenced once the whistle blew.


	12. Chapter 12

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 12: Winter Games, part 2**

"It had to take them a goal before anyone noticed the Ruski's using a hockey stick.. Hasn't anyone noticed that they have too much players..?!" groaned an annoyed Gilbert Beilschmidt, pulling on his hair.

"Haven't you noticed that they've been doing this for five years?" Roderich shot back.

"Of course I have! And they're, like, going against the mother rule of only having six players on ice! Which is so unawesome!"

"Is there really a word such as 'mother rule'?"

"You don't even care about hockey!"

"Quiet, you two!"

_Thwack._

"Why is it only the awesome me you're hitting?!" cried Gilbert.

Lilli was watching the game together with Gilbert, Elizaveta and Roderich. She was the least concerned of the trio's daily quarrels and gripping her skirt tight, praying that Ivan wouldn't get hurt. It wasn't like he looked like he was going to get hurt- he was at peak condition, top height and had the right build, but there was something about the opponent team that made this game scarier than it should be.

Gilbert had a point, they had nine players on ice. The rink was cramped.

Everyone was tensed up as their largely unnoticed classmate, Matthew Williams, stole the spotlight. He dribbled the puck with his hockey stick, evading larger opponents with ease and skill. This was his time to shine, a time to get recognized.

Finally, he could show everyone that he isn't just his twin Alfred's doormat!

Or so he thought.

"GO, ALFRED!"

Matthew tripped and and fell face flat (comically..), hearing those words. One moment he was flying with his head in the clouds and the next, he was sliding like a slug face flat on ice. Literally.

This wasn't exactly the fame he wanted..

And like he was used to, the other players (both from his team and the opponents) slid past him like he wasn't there.

At least they hadn't considered skating over him. Which would affect all the viewers psychologically in a negative way.

"Matthew!" yelled Alfred, "What're you doing, get up!"

"Huh, he's not Alfred?"

"Then who is he?"

The bespectacled American groaned. "That's my twin Matthew!"

"Who?"

"Agh." Alfred facepalmed. 'Matthew' wasn't such a hard name to remember.. But forget that, did a bear just talk?

"Get up, comrade.." said Ivan, sitting on his knees and pulling the Canadian's arm. However, as Matthew raised his head, the other maybe ten players were barraging towards them like a herd of elephants. Ivan thought that their skates were looking a bit too friendly..

"Oh..dear..maple..!"

Adrenaline rushed and both players hurriedly stood up with the help of each other but were both thrown to the ground again, sliding like pucks slowly towards the opponent goalkeeper. The said man could only stare at them skeptically. Ivan weakly raised his head, only to get hit squarely by a puck, which later bounced into the goal.

Their first score after he joined the game.

And this time, no one was going to interfere.

Substitution was called and Berwald and Arthur replaced Matthew and Ivan. Well, Matthew was made goalkeeper while his much larger comrade was given a chance to recover from all the falls he got.

In less than 20 minutes, he fell maybe less than 40 times. Or if not falling, he mostly got knocked over, hit the walls, ran into both goalkeepers (one which was Arthur), scoring into their own goal, rolling, accidentally hitting someone with a stick or almost mutilating someone with his skates accidentally.

For self-defense.

..Accidentally and self-defense..?

Okay, maybe not so accidentally, but still..

His musings were brought to an end when the bystanders roared. It seemed they had scored.

'Okay, that was all very nice, but where did they put my pipe?'

"Ivan!"

"Yonda~?" responded the snow-capped Russian. Lilli gestured him to come near. With a smile on his face, he wordlessly obeyed and sat by the still bickering trio. (Technically, Gil and Liza were the only ones keeping up the argument, but it would be bad not to include Roderich's contributions, da?)

"I saw you play! You were much better with the pipe than the stick."

Ivan smiled, but deep down, he didn't feel that great. He was about to respond when the crowd cheered, signalling another win for their team. Even Gil and Liza momentarily forgotten about their argument and joined the crowd. Lilli cheered too, though quietly and in a very graceful manner. Ivan grinned. He would always want her to be that way.

'What was I thinking?'

"Ivan?"

The Russian almost gasped. "..Ah yes.. You haven't seen my pipe, da?"

"Maybe Rome-sensei has it. Or the other coach..?"

"Da. Probably."

Lilli smiled. Ivan fixed his eyes at the transparent plastic that walled the artificial rink. The fight seemed to take a more constructive turn without him. There was tension everywhere and they seemed to be back in the game.

'Hm.. 20 minutes with me in the game, 1 point.. 1 minute without me in the game.. Hm.."

His violet eyes seemed to lose it's shine. The more he thought about it, the more decided against paying attention to the game and was extremely oblivious when another one of their players were having a squabble.

Berwald was pushed against the plastic walls by their opponent. Well, body checking was legal, but it also managed to throw the Swede off balance and tumble down. Which was a bit embarrassing. (seriously, the crowd had seen better. and by better, i meant 'more embarrassing') Since Berwald was a very mild-mannered and polite man (although very intimidating), he did not take the offense seriously. But his Nordic brother, Mathias, added gas to the fire by getting angry and shoving the offender roughly. The offender was slightly taller than Mathias and so, he accepted the come-on. Once again, Rome-sensei made his fourth appearance in the rink and had to break them apart. In the end, Mathias and the other were suspended.

"Well, that's how it should be! They were having too many players on ice!" Gilbert remarked.

"Yes, yes, but seriously, Gilbert, can you please stay still and try not to comment whenever someone makes a decision?" sighed Elizaveta, fed up with his obnoxiousness.

"But, I'm adding more power to the decision! Like explaining! The awesome me is being useful here, so don't go and hit me with your purse, okay?!"

"No one finds your comments useful anymore, Gil."

Meanwhile, on the other side, people were arguing whether to keep the match the way it is or to call forth another player. It seemed a bit too scary to send out another since the 'exercise' looked more like a fight between fans on whose hockey team was better.

"Well..it _is_ to make sure that all kids get practice.." said the other coach.

"Maybe you should start telling your kids to see mine as real human beings, not practice cones they could just knock over." said Rome, angry.

"Izvinite..but have you seen my pipe?"

The two coaches stared at the Russian, who was tugging on Rome's sleeve. Then, they stared at each other, and to Ivan.

"Chto?"

...

"Wait, wait, I thought I was out of the game..?"

"Well, we have no choice but to put you back in." said Rome, pushing Ivan once again into the rink. The Russian almost slipped upon his entrance but gained his balance by holding onto the teacher. "Now listen, everyone knows that you have lots of potential.."

Ivan nodded to show his attentiveness. (which was extremely rare)

"..You just need to practice your skating skills. Maybe when you're in middle school, we'll send you to the official game, along with Alfred-"

"Matvie."

"Oh, sorry, Matthew and maybe even Alfred. Do you understand?"

"Da."

"Bene. Now go."

The whistle blew and everything started once again. Tackling, pushing, offense, defense, everything. As the puck slid past him, he joined the group. And got body-checked and pushed against the walls.

Gilbert let out an obnoxious laughter but stopped halfway as Lilli and Liza stared at him menacingly.

"..Whaat?"

Back to the game, well, Ivan was still trying hard to catch up with everyone. He managed to get hold of the puck and was about to pass it to Arthur when he got pushed again. The Englishman let out an annoyed scream as he pursued Ivan's attacker, not for revenge, but because he had the puck.

Let's just say Ivan got body-checked a few more times before he got extremely pissed.

And a pissed Ivan isn't something most people would want to see.

Okay, a pissed Ivan is something people would never dream of seeing.

People have a higher chance of living without a certain angry Russian going on a rampage.

As for now, Emile was dribbling the puck with two players hot on his trail.

Then, all of the sudden-

Gilbert gasped.

Eliza gasped.

Lilli gasped.

Roderich did not gasp.

"Takk, Ivan." said the silverette, passing the puck to Sigurd.

Ivan had just gave someone a taste of his own medicine.

Not only that, because of his height and build, he managed to stop two opponents at once.

This was the start of his body-checking frenzy.

**Hockey terminology**

**Body checking- this is where someone uses his hip or shoulder to hit another player. I have no idea why, but apparently, this is legal.**

**I'm real darn sorry if the hockey is a bit taking them too long.**

**Izvinite- (Rus.) Excuse me**

**Chto- (Rus.) What**

**Bene- (Ita.) Good**

**Takk- (Icelandic) Thank you**


	13. Chapter 13

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 13: Winter Games, part 3**

"Did something just happen to Braginski?"

"Dude, he's pissed."

Everyone could clearly see that Ivan Braginski was extremely focused in the game. He was taking it very seriously, which was obvious on the look on his face.

But if you ask Ivan himself, he'll say that it was just revenge.

He was enjoying a bit too much from throwing his opponents off-course. His strategy; find out who has the puck and push him to the wall! Not just about stealing the puck, but also for revenge! So far, they were on tie with the opponent team, 12-12. One more goal was all they needed to win.

And this is the game at it's most intense stage.

It was going too intense that Ivan was having a hard time keeping up with everyone's speed. Everyone looked like they were ready to kill for victory.

"Every year, there's at least one poor sap sent to the hospital." said Gilbert out of the blue, "And from the looks of it, it's going to be two this year-"

"YOU IDIOT!" yelled Eliza, thwacking Gilbert with her purse, "Stop scaring Lilli!"

The albino rubbed his arm. "I was scaring her?"

"Um..N-nein, not really.." Lilli gently intervened. The trio softly gazed at her. She wasn't scared. She was worried.

"Five minutes more and if they don't score, it's going to be a tie." said Roderich.

...

Going back to the game, it seemed like it was never going to end. All the players were in a rush, using whatever trick they had in their sleeve. Just one more win.

"Oh."

"Mein."

"Gott."

Ivan was gripping his stick tightly. The puck was in his hands. Not really in his hands, well, but he had it.

And he had six

angry

others

in

front

of

him.

He was frozen in terror.

They weren't moving.

They were waiting for him to make the first move. Everything in Ivan's little world seemed to stop and grow silent.

"Uh.." Ivan smiled nervously, "..Privet?"

And they attacked.

Ivan ran, or rather, skated for his life. There was no one to pass the puck to. Seriously, why did he even say 'privet' in the first place? Plus, 'privet' meant 'hello', not 'come at me, bro'! Seriously!

"Shoot, you idiot!" yelled Mathias, who was at the bench.

"I would if I could!" cried Ivan. He was literally crying. Getting chased by angry opponents reminded him of something from his childhood too well..only this was six times worse.

Then, he passed the goal. Skated over to the other side. Slid all around. Then, Ivan noticed that his teammates weren't helping him. They were like watching him get feasted over by a herd of sharks.

Finally, he was cornered.

He was sweating ice cubes.

"One minute left." someone announced.

'Oh, great, that's a very useful announcement. Keep up the good work.'

Looking somewhere far, he saw Matthew in front of their goal, almost ripping his hair out.

And then, he saw a wall of players who didn't have the best intentions.

A player hurriedly tried to steal the puck away from him.

And then, he screamed.

"THE PRINCIPAL IS WATCHING US!"

It might be the oldest trick in the book, but it still worked.

His opponents turned back to whatever Ivan was pointing to. Then, the poor Russian made a stance exclusively meant for Tiger Woods and hit the puck with all his might, praying that it might reach the goal.

It passed the goal.

Smashed it's way out of the rink.

And the worst part, lvan wasn't lying about the principal being there.

The referee announced a tie, but everyone was too busy to care.

"I totally knew that there were going to be two people hospitalized after this!" yelled Gilbert.

...

"Now, now, Ivan.. They aren't angry at you.." Lilli smiled as an assurance, "It's just a tie, no worries.."

"That's not what I'm worried about..!" cried Ivan, "I hit the principal! And put him in the hospital!"

"Yes.. Yes you did." said Matthew, "And you are going to, as well, if you don't get out of that garbage bin."

"He means trash can." added a similar voice. Alfred perhaps.

"What do you mean? I'm not in a trash can."

"Yes, you are!" Alfred cried in a high-pitched voice. His voice seemed to have a little crack, which Lilli and Matthew later laughed at. A pissed off Alfred sighed and removed the trash can's lid.

And flailed his arms like a girl when a dirty carton of milk was thrown at him.

"Not cool, dude! You're like, sitting in a trash can full of trash!"

Ivan curled up into a ball and covered himself with a large piece of cardboard. The trio simply stared at him.

"Ivan.. We know you're there."

There was no response.

"Hey..Ivan, come out of there. You're gonna stink."

"Ivan is not here!" yelled the Russian, "..It's just..trash here..that stinks..like garbage."

While Matthew didn't find anything sensible from his downcast classmate's last sentence, Lilli gently removed the piece of cardboard in between them. Ivan was making a pouty face, which was cute in it's own right.

"Oh, dear." Lilli frowned. "Ivan, we know how you feel, but you won't feel any better."

"I don't know but I think we're going to have to call Rome-sensei-"

"Nyet, I beg you comrade, don't call Rome-sensei!" yelled Ivan, grabbing Matthew's arm. Matthew made a funny face as he forcefully scraped Ivan's arm off his own. Because he popped out of the bin like a jack-in-the-box, he then lost his balance and fell into the snow, half of his body still in the trash can. Alfred burst into laughter.

"Good," Matthew muttered, still disgusted, "But I think you should go home and take a nice, warm bath-"

"I can't."

"What?"

"You see, comrade.." Ivan sheepishly commented, "I am stuck."

**I mean, when someone from a trash can grabs you, it's normal to get freaked out, right?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 14.1: Seven Minutes in Hell**

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR BLOOMING MIND?!" yelled Arthur Kirkland. Alfred winced and slightly shrunk in his chair. Francis Bonnefoy, their roommate, simply sat on the other side of the table with his hand pinching his nose.

Since it was too embarrassing to let Ivan walk home smelling like garbage, Alfred and Matthew offered to let him take a shower in their place, which was very close to the park.

Clarification; it wasn't _their_ place. The twins lived with their cousin Arthur for a while before they moved out and lived in a separate area they called their own.

And well, Arthur was indeed very angry for that matter. It was alright if he didn't come in smelling like garbage and laced in gum wrappers and fish bones.

"Aw, shush, Unibrow." frowned Alfred, "If you were there, you would've done the same."

"YES, I WOULD'VE DONE THE SAME, OFFER HIM A BATH IN MY COUSIN'S PLACE!"

Francis rubbed his temples. "Arthur, you do not understand-"

"AND WHAT EXACTLY IN THIS WHOLE COMMOTION DID I NOT UNDERSTAND?! HE'S SPREAD GERMS ALL AROUND THE HOUSE AND USES A CUBIC OF OUR WATER! NOW TELL ME WHAT PART DO YOU THINK I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!"

"Why not just let them and their little friend clean up? It would work out for all of us, non?"

"Yeah, exactly, Unibrow! We.." Alfred was lost in his words. "Dammit, Frenchy, we are not cleaning! Let Ivan do it!"

"Yonda~?"

The bickering trio shuddered at the sound of an innocent voice that masked some..bad intentions.

"W-w.." stuttered Arthur, "When did you finish taking a bath?"

"Who said I took a bath?"

The three looked at each other with slightly stupid looks on their faces.

"..Why are you here?" asked Alfred.

"Because it would be better if I clean first, just like you three were talking about."

The smile on the Russian's face giving them the effect..In horror movies, where the protagonist lets the someone enter the house, unknowing that he had just let the killer in the house.

"Okay.. Carry on. There's clean rags in the kitchen drawer."

Ivan smiled and proceeded to carry out instructions. Until Arthur realized something wrong.

"Wait, get your dirty hands off my kitchen!"

The Russian simply looked at him in response. "..Then I'll wash my hands-"

"No, you do not touch the sink either!" the Englishman facepalmed, "Oh, just get yourself a bloody bath and let us take care of it."

Ivan grinned and walked into the bathroom. "Spasibo, mister Arthur. Mind getting me a towel and extra clothes?"

He exactly knew how to make rules work out for him.

**Chapter 14.2: The Pipe**

**a/n: Leon Wang is my human name for Hong Kong.**

After Ivan took a nice not to mention very cold bath (he had forgotten to heat some water), he joined the others, who were eating together at the school cafeteria after the game.

"Ah, si?" Rome inquired, feeling someone tug at his sleeve.

"My faucet pipe.. Have you seen it?"

The teacher nodded, remembering the metal pipe Ivan seemed to carry around with him. "Si, I seem to have left it back in the field."

He excused himself and set off to accompany the young Russian. Being a very friendly person, Rome decided to know more about his little student.

"So, Ivan, why do you always carry that pipe?"

"So I'd always have some clean water with me."

Rome stared at Ivan for a few good seconds. Ivan had been used to that face.

"..When I was young, I thought water comes out of it."

The Italian nodded knowingly. Soon, they reached the field, only to find the pipe gone.

"It's okay, sensei." said Ivan without the slightest bit of worry, "You should go back. Everyone is waiting for you."

"Non. I left with you, so I must go back with you." said the Italian, moving some paces in front of Ivan.

"I can find it alone, too."

Rome flashed a concerned smile at his student. "Do you know water doesn't flow out of your pipe?"

The little Russian nodded. "..Because..it isn't connected to other pipes?"

"Bene, exactly." said Rome, placing a hand over his shoulder, "You can't do anything alone, bambino. For the good stuff to come out, you must first be willing to be connected to other people. Things are easier and work best with teamwork."

"Exactly."

Ivan spun around and saw his other classmates. The Baltics, the Germans, the Asians, the Romances and Lilli, who was holding his prized faucet pipe. Even Vash, Roderich and Eliza were present.

"Someone wanted to steal the pipe away from you, so the awesome me kept it for you!" grinned Gilbert.

"A someone named Gilbert Beilschmidt." snickered Elizaveta.

"H-hey!" the albino yelled in embarrassment. The whole class laughed along, even their most of the time emotionless classmate Leon Wang was smiling. Ivan was similarly laughing along with everyone. With the problem solved, everyone returned all together to the feast.

* * *

Ivan was home, all alone in his small living space. Looking at his pipe, he could still remember Rome-sensei's words.

_You can't do anything alone, bambino._

"You're right, Rome-sensei." muttered Ivan, "Things are easier with people. That's why I pretend."


	15. Chapter 15

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 15: Unexpected Visitor**

**a/n: Ivan sits at the very back of the classroom. He sits in between Toris and the wall. The elementary and middle school students classrooms are in a separate building.**

Rome-sensei went in the classroom with a bright, sunshiny smile on his face. Everyday, he would always be happy, but today looked extra special. Maybe he won the lottery.

Or maybe he was drunk, as Ivan thought. He had watched some TV in Lilli's house and saw that most drunk people did look like that..

"Today, class, you're all going to have another new classmate!"

Everyone let out an 'ohh, so that's why he's so happy' kind of sound. As Rome-sense continued rambling, a bored Gilbert Beilschmidt's eyes drifted to the window. "Geez, more transferrees..? It's April, for crying out loud.."

"Alright, come in now, bambina!"

Everyone's ears perked up. Bambina? Finally, a girl!

And then came the new student.

Beautiful.

Cute.

Blond.

Nicely dressed.

Gilbert stared at her.

Ludwig flashed a sign of approval.

Raivis and Ed blushed.

Alfred wowed.

Toris was speechless.

Ivan screamed and recoiled in terror, jumping out of his seat and protectively curling into a ball in the corner. Everyone in class shifted their attention to Ivan.

"..Is he..gynophobic?" muttered Ed.

"I think he's xenophobic." said Matthew.

"No, he isn't gynophobic 'cuz he's friends with Lilli." said Raivis.

"..Maple.."

"Privyet, brat." smiled the new student. She had beautiful platinum blond hair that bounced off her shoulders and her violet eyes twinkled. But somehow, Ivan failed to see the beauty.

"..Er, class.." said the Italian teacher, "..This cute girl is also Slavic, from Belarus. She's Ivan's little sister-"

"SISTER?!" the whole class screamed, except for Ivan, who was crying and Lilli, who simply gasped. Ivan had told her all about her sisters, but no way did she expect that she would be transferring here.

"Natalya Arlovskaya." she said, her tone cold and hard. Her Slavic accent was cute and she looked like she was a bit of a snob. Ivan was still huddling himself in the corner, praying that the teacher wouldn't let her sit beside him.

"Can you tell us why you transferred?" inquired Rome.

"I moved here." the girl answered straightforwardly.

"What?! You did?!" cried Ivan.

Rome nodded. "Very well then, sit beside Toris."

Yes, Toris sat beside Ivan at the back. The Russian sighed in relief and Toris' face reddened as Natalya went near. She set her bag atop the desk and looked at the red-faced Lithuanian.

"Move." she glared.

Toris flashed a questioning face and Ivan almost screamed, gesturing to him not to follow orders. When poor Toris looked up to her one last time, she glared harder.

"Move..!"

For some reason, he paled and unconsciously succumbed to orders. Natalya didn't show any sign of gratitude as she took her bag and made herself at home on the Lithuanian's seat.

"Brat, please sit down next to me."

Though very scared, Ivan staggered up and took the longest possible time to shuffle to his seat.

"Sit down!"

Ivan cried and sat back abruptly. Natalya seemed to smile and turned towards the teacher. Rome was slightly getting freaked out. The family resemblance was strong.

"Alright class, today, we're going to talk about the painters of the Renaissance." said Rome, taping some printed pictures on the chalkboard. While Rome kept ranting about da Vinci and Michelangelo, the harsh sound of metal scraping against the floor could be heard at the back. Ivan noticed that Natalya was slowly inching closer to him, desk and all, so he moved away. Rome had a 'teacher's habit' of being very engrossed in the lesson. Too engrossed that he wouldn't notice his screaming students if Godzilla magically appeared out of nowhere and started eating them one by one.

"So, then class," said Rome, turning to the students, "Any questions?"

"May I sit beside you..?" whined a very scared Ivan as he hugged his bag tightly, back pressed against the wall. Natalya's desk and chair was only an inch away from Ivan's.

* * *

It was free time. Usually, Lilli would be the one to walk to Ivan, but now, he expressed great initiative to be with his best friend. As expected Natalya ran and locked arms with Ivan.

"..S-se-sestra.." frowned Ivan, shaking her away from him.

"Stay away from my brat." hissed Natalya. Lilli wasn't one bit fazed. After all, Vash acted like that towards some of her male friends. He even made Raivis run home crying one time.

"Sestra.. She's my friend." said Ivan, trying to smile, "This is Lil-"

"She is taking you away from me!" cried Natalya, pulling Ivan's arm rather violently. "We are going to get married and nothing will stop us, not even her! Kekkon..kekkon..kekkon.."

Ivan groaned. "No, sestra, look. She is nice and friendly."

Natalya was hugging Ivan's back. She peeked out and glared at Lilli. The Germanic girl smiled as a response. "Natalya?"

Ivan's younger sister may be scary, but she wasn't that foul to turn down a greeting. "..Privyet.."

The Russian smiled. "See? You two can be friends. I've told Lilli all about you and sestra."

"Ja, I've heard lots of good things about you!" smiled Lilli, "She told me that you were very beautiful. You're more beautiful than Ivan described!"

Natalya blushed deeply. "..Spasibo.."

"Ah, by the way, you moved now, da?" asked Ivan, "Then that means Ded and Sestra-"

"Nyet, they're not here!" the girl cried, tightening her grip around Ivan's waist, "I will live in your house, just the two of us!"

"Ivan~" chirped Feliciano, "There's a bella waiting for you outside~"

Natalya tried her best to prevent him from meeting his visitor when the visitor herself went in. All the boys..well..stared at her.

"Vanya~!" cried a Slavic girl running towards Ivan. She looked one year older than Ivan. Everyone was so focused on the visitor that they didn't notice someone at the door.

"Que? Did someone order repair again?"

"Nej."

"Then why are you heere~?"

"She'd g't lost w'thout me."

Feliciano turned back and saw the visitor. "Oh~, she's in middle school."

Berwald flashed his usual face and nodded. Meanwhile, inside the class, everyone was staring at this particular girl who was strangling..er, hugging Ivan.

"Sestra!" Ivan gasped, "Sestra, I-"

The poor Russian was muffled when the girl hugged him to her chest. "Vanya dear, I'm glad to see you again~!" She had some tears in her eyes and was oblivious that she was slowly suffocating her little brother.

"Sestra, let go already, you're killing brat!"

The girl immediately let him go and Ivan almost dropped to the ground, panting.

"..It's..It's nice to see you, too, sestra.."

"Look how much you've grown!" she smiled, pressing his cheeks. "Dedushka will be very happy to see you again~!"

"Dedushka is here..?"

"Yo, Ivan!" yelled Alfred, "Mind introducing us to your really pretty sisters?"

Ivan didn't look very pleased with Alfred's face, nor the faces of all the boys staring at her. "..This, moya dear sestras, is Alfred Jones. American."

"Privet." smiled the elder sister.

"Privyet." said the Belarusian coldly.

"This is my big sestra Yekaterina. From Ukraina." said Ivan.

"You can call me Katyusha, too." she added cheerfully.

Ivan lightly scratched his cheeks. "She's very nice, but not much to look at. Her breasts are so giant they make her back hurt. And also, we're poor, so those are real."

Katyusha blushed. Ivan could be a little too honest sometimes.

"She has giant knockers, so she ends up getting targeted a lot. Also, she is not much to look at so you shouldn't look at her."

Without skipping a beat, Ivan added with a little more joy, "And if you look at her in the wrong way, your eyes will burn with bleach."

Looking closely, you could see the air turning violet around Ivan. Again.

Turning to the Belarusian, he continued, "And this is my little sister, Natalya from Belarus. She is something to look at, but not very nice. So, you shouldn't come near her in the wrong way for your personal safety. She tells me she loves me, but sometimes, I'm not so sure.."

Natalya continued to hug Ivan, glaring at everyone.

"And big sestra, this is my best friend Lilli!" Ivan grinned, pointing to the little girl with braids. "She is cute and small but not weak. Also, she is intelligent. But her big brother is creepy. Just like Natalya!" The Belarusian flashed a confused face while Katyusha fixed her teal eyes on Lilli. She slowly approached her.

"You are sooooo cute~!" she squealed, hands on Lilli's cheeks. "And Vanya dear likes cute things."

"Vanya?" Lilli meekly looked up to her.

"Mm. That's what we called him when he was a baby."

"Seeeestra.." pouted Ivan, "You promised not to call me that in front of people, da?"

"Ah, da, da. Prasti.." she smiled apologetically. "Oh, I'm afraid I must be going back."

"To the other building?" frowned Ivan.

"Da." smiled Katyusha, "I have lots of nice classmates. I will see you and Natalya later at the gate. Then, we will go home together!"

Ivan nodded. "Have a nice day then. Poka"

Katyusha once again sprinted out the classroom with the boys staring at her bouncing knockers. Ivan, in turn, stared at the offenders, radiating his usual violet aura.

"Oh, you waited for me?"

"Mm."

"Why, that's very kind of you. You should've gone back earlier."

"But then ya'd get lost."

"Oh, that's right.. Then I do owe you a big favor."

"Mm."

Ivan peeks at the conversation between her sister and Berwald as they walked back to the neighboring building. The other boys snickered at them.

"Berwaldo's probably the only person who'd keep a face like that while talking to your sister." grinned Alfred.

"Or maybe that's because he loves Tino too much." Gilbert joked.

Ivan shrugged his shoulders. As long as her sister isn't taken advantage on, it was fine with him.

**Bella- (Ita.) beauty**

**Brat- (Rus.) brother**

**Moya sestra- (Rus.) my sister**

**Nej- (Sve.) No**

**Ded- (Rus.) short for dedushka, gramps. I can't find it in myself to address my grandfather 'ded'.**

**Prasti- (Rus.) sorry**

**Okay, Izvini/Izvinite is 'excuse me'. Sorry about that.**

**Poka- (Rus.) bye, informal**

**Do svidaniya is 'goodbye' while 'poka' is 'bye'.**

**a/n: Belarus is 11 years old here. She is more mild-mannered and can still control her obsession/infatuation with her brother. She will become more and more scary as the story progresses.**

**Ukraine is 14 years old, one year older than Ivan.**

**The story is set in April. Belarus' and Ukraine's birthdays are in August, which means both are turning 12 and 15 respectively.**

**I can't help but put the last part in there. Sweden's probably used to taking repair requests in that particular classroom (since that room's probably the wildest). And well, SweUkr is one of my OTPs. ^J^**

**And America calls Sweden 'Berwaldo', cuz, y'know, being friendly and such..**


	16. Chapter 16

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 16: Backstory**

"Vanya dear?"

Ivan snaps out of his trance. He seemed to be a bit of disappointed to hear that their grandfather would be coming in December. He wouldn't be able to adapt well to the sudden temperature change. After all, he was too used to the cold Russian climate.

"You miss dedushka, don't you?"

Ivan nods. Natalya grabbed her brother by the back. "Don't worry, brat! You still have me!" Yekaterina could only chuckle at the sight as she hugged both of her younger siblings. "We all miss him."

The Russian male smiled warmly. The house seemed to be a little less lonely with his sisters around.

"So, tell me about your friend Lilli." smiled Yekaterina, setting a huge pot of borsch on the table. Ivan had truly missed his sister's cooking.

"She was the first person to not laugh at my nose." said Ivan.

"I didn't laugh at your nose!" Natalya blurted out.

"..Well, outside the family." said Yekaterina. Natalya pouted as her older sister ladled some borsch in her bowl. "She looks like a kind and gentle person."

"She is a kind and gentle person. You two will get along." said Ivan.

"She will steal you away from us!" cried Natalya. Ivan and Yekaterina sighed at their little sister. Natalya was always a mature person, but well, she would often act up, especially when she gets jealous.

"Natalya-"

"It's the truth!"

Yekaterina frowned and dropped whatever she was doing. "Natalya, you don't need to worry about Vanya anymore."

"Da, sestra." said Ivan with a concerned look, "Look, we live together now. And we will never separate."

Natalya settled into nodding, but still wore a frown throughout the rest of the meal.

* * *

It was some time in the night when Ivan could hear a familiar crying. He thought it was a dream, but then, he suddenly remembered that both of his sisters had moved in with him. He immediately shot up and ran to wherever the crying came from.

But he could instantly recognize that voice anywhere.

He barged in the room next to his and came upon his little sister, crying. He sat next to her in bed and held her tight in her arms.

"Sh, sestra.. You can stop now.. I'm here now."

Natalya wasn't wailing anymore, but was still sobbing. She buried her face into Ivan's chest. Ivan smiled and rocked her to sleep.

Ivan could remember living with his sisters in that wheat farm in Ukraine.

Everything changed after that horrible day when they lost their parents. Natalya was never the same. Ivan could still remember her crying herself to sleep every night. She would scream and toss herself around, remembering the every detail of that day in vivid color.

When Ivan was three, their parents died in a car accident. They were going home from Belarus when something happened. Natalya was with them. How she survived was their parents' final effort put together.

She was heavily traumatized after that. It took maybe seven years for her to go back to normal. But until now, she still has nightmares about them. Both Ivan and Yekaterina are still worried that she might not change.

"...B-brat..?"

"Da?"

Natalya looked up to him with teary eyes. "..You w-won't leave again, right..?"

"Da." Ivan rubbed her back.

"..Even with your new wife..?"

Ivan sputtered a bit. "..Sestra, Lilli isn't my wife.."

"Da, but she will be.."

"Da, da, if you insist.." sighed Ivan, tightening his hold onto her. "Maybe I will not get married. But you, me, sestra and dedushka are going to live together and never be separated. 700 years is enough for us, da?"

Natalya gave a large, teary smile. "Da." Ivan grinned as Natalya shut her eyes to sleep, embracing her older brother. It was only with him that she felt safe.

"Ya tebya lyubyu, brat." she whispered.

"Ya tebya lyubyu, sestra.."

**Ya tebya lyubyu- (Rus.) I love you**

**Well, I wanted to include this in the story since you guys will need it to really understand Natalya. That's why you should never judge people without knowing their back story.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 17: Chaotic Celebrations**

Vash glared at all the people in the house. He could hardly believe that it was August already. He could hardly believe that it had been almost two years ever since that crazy Russian had barged in and turned their lives upside down. Just a little weeks more and vacation will be over. He would be in his second year of middle school now. And her once sweet sister Lilli would be a first year, the first step into the rebellious teenager phase. Just thinking about it made Vash want to cry.

He could remember Lilli's graduation. She shed tears and hugged her classmates tightly, thanking them for all the good times. It was okay, a common sight during graduations, but, well, when Ivan hugged her...he didn't know what to do first- shoot the Russian or call an ambulance. But one thing was for sure; that would be the last time he was letting Ivan hug Lilli.

"S dniom rozhdeniya, Zwingli!"

That snapped him out of his trance. There was a large birthday cake, baked by Ludwig. And he was sharing it with two of Ivan's sisters- the one with the giant knockers and one who was as crazy as Ivan. Truthfully, he was forced to be reminded of himself whenever she sees Natalya protectively strangling Ivan, but he would most definitely not allow her to point a knife at her sister. Well..he did attempt to shoot Ivan a few times but.. Back to the situation, all three had their birthdays at the same month and someone (probably Lilli or Ivan or both) had planned to celebrate their birthdays in one big event. And there they were, glaring at one another intently, everyone silent among the staring contest between Natalya and Vash, the birthday cake untouched in the middle.

He seriously had a mob to feed. There was Ludwig and Gilbert, well, it was normal to have both of them since they were distant relatives. Vash was obligated to invite Roderich and the latter would surely bring Elizaveta, but why, or rather, who the hell came up with the idea of merging the three's birthdays?! Sure, it was fine to have a share with the finances, but for some reason, having too much people in the house upset him.

Ludwig broke the silence. "..Okay, I believe this is the part where we sing 'Happy Birthday'."

Everyone looked at him and nodded.

"Allez gute zum gebursdog-"

"S dniom rozhdeni-"

And then, everyone stopped and stared at each other.

If there's one thing history taught us, it's that if you put Germanics and Slavics in a birthday party together, you're going to have a bad time.

* * *

It was during birthdays Vash managed to partially act like a child. He knew that he had every right to act like one and no one would care. That's why as soon as everyone gave him his colorfully-wrapped gifts, he tore them with unrestrained energy. Being practical (or just plain stingy), he was annoyed at having to wrap gifts. They could just give it directly, right?

The first one was from Roderich. It was a pretty heavy one.

He tore off the wrapper violently and stopped at the sight of a..a...box..?

"There's a box. Why the hell would you even wrap it? It's inside a box." said Vash rudely.

"Oh, don't get us with that attitude of yours, Vash." scolded Elizaveta, "You should just be thanking him."

Vash scoffed and opened the box. He gaped.

He had never felt so happy in his whole life.

It was a box full of assorted Swiss chocolate bars.

Blushing, he turned to Roderich. "..D-danke schon.."

Roderich loved seeing that humiliated face of his. He knew he would be acting like Gilbert if he laughed, so he settled for a nod. Vash grabbed the next paper bag. It was a long one. From Gilbert and Ludwig. From the looks of it, he knew already what it was.

Well, he was expecting a bottle of wine, but instead got a small bottle of German beer. He stared at it skeptically and then directed the same stare at the two.

"Whaat?" frowned Gilbert, "Do you know how hard it was to get that from Onkel?"

Vash sighed and put the bottle back in the bag. "Danke schon, but next time, don't ever bring me beer again."

Gilbert smirked and laughed his usual 'kesesese' while Ludwig sighed. The latter first suggested to give him the gun they kept for no reason, but Gilbert wouldn't concede, saying that he would prefer the beer. The two ended up betting a whole year of washing dishes on who would win, and..well, guess who won today.

The next one was from Ivan. He scowled at the tiny gift. It looked like a carton of thumbtacks. When he did open it, it was a small carton of..bullets. Just a few bullets, maybe nine or so.

"I thought you would need it." smiled Ivan. Yes, for a whole two years, Vash indeed had spent a lot of bullets on Ivan. Vash was about to thank him when, upon further inspection, half of them were empty shells.

In compensation, Ivan provided another carton of thumbtacks.

The next one was from Lilli, Elizaveta and Katyusha. It was something fluffy inside. Vash let out a smile, seeing a white beret, similar to the one his father had left him. It was probably made by the three. Everyone knew that he liked it from the way it almost brought tears in his eyes. Immediately, he wiped them before they would materialize and breathed a shaky 'danke schon'.

Yekaterina was next. She all opened them quickly and thanked everyone. Since she was the eldest, her gifts were some things she really needed. A handmade scarf from Lilli, a seemingly revealing dress from Elizaveta, a black headband from Ivan and a set of bobby pins plus a birthday card from Natalya. Touching, but no, the contents of the card must not be read to young children.

The last to open gifts was the little Belarusian birthday girl, who had been spacing out for a while, staring at a piece of cardboard.

She had three gifts- one from Ivan, one from Lilli and one from Katyusha.

She first opened Lilli's gift. Now when Natalya opens gifts, she does so with the help of a cutter.

Natalya flashed a blank expression at the sight of a new ribbon. A black one. Lilli had always noticed the white bow on her hair and how she seemed to wear it everyday. She simply nodded in response and placed it back into the wrapper. Lilli frowned, concerned that she didn't like the gift.

Next was Katyusha's gift. She pried the gift out of the wrapper using the blade. Again, she had a blank expression on her face. It was a new hairbrush. Once again, she nodded and placed it back in the wrapper. Well..it was kind of normal not to get excited with a gift such as a hairbrush.

"Ah, I believe Toris, Ed and Raivis did give you this." said Ivan, handing a small paperbag. Natalya easily opened it and saw a set of colorful ballpens. She simply nodded and gave it back to Ivan. Now moving on to her most precious big brother's gift.

This time, she did not use the cutter, but slowly, carefully removed the tape and made extreme caution not to damage the wrapper in any way. She was taking too long and suspense was kind of building up. After creating a large enough opening, she slipped her hand in it and pulled out a navy blue dress. Ivan scratched his cheek lightly. "I wasn't sure if it would fit you.."

Natalya had a wide smile on her face.

She removed her clothes, wanting to change into the dress already.

No more details available.

...

After that, everyone went home with some sort of souvenir. Let's just say it started with Gilbert, who did something to offend Ivan, who punched him harder than he meant to and then everything happened. Vash attempted to scare them by brandishing an unloaded rifle. Ludwig and Roderich managed to get involved when they wanted to stop them. Natalya was still changing clothes. For some reason, Elizaveta was enjoying the sight.

For the record, they weren't even drunk.

If you put Germanics and Slavics in a birthday party together, you're going to have a bad time.

...

_Extra_

"So, West, you do know that you get to wash the dishes for one year, do you?"

Ludwig rubbed his split lip. "Was do you mean? Everyone knows that Vash would prefer the gun over the beer."

"Ja, exactly!" said Gilbert, "That's why you wash the dishes."

"No, you wash the dishes." said Ludwig, annoyed.

"We agreed that if you win, you would wash the dishes for a whole year, right?"

"Was?! Nein, w- argh!"

...

_Extra #2_

"You know what, Lilli?" smiled Yekaterina.

"Ja?"

"At home, Natalya always wears the ribbon you gave her."

* * *

**Check the sentence above where the two make a bet.**

**Allez gute zum gebursdog, S dniom rozhdeniya- (Ger., Rus.) Happy birthday**

**Onkel- (Ger.) Uncle**

**The uncle Prussia and Germany were referring to was Germania.**

**This is kinda a filler chapter, so I'm sorry. I really kinda want to write this, too. ^J^**

**Starting tomorrow, they are officially going to be middle school students.**

**Lilli- 13-14**

**Ivan- 16-17**

**Vash, Roderich, Eliza, Ludwig, Gilbert- 15-16**


	18. Chapter 18

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 18: Middle School**

**a/n: Nicolette Rucherfort is Monaco.**

Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli gazed proudly at the large bulletin board. Her name was listed on the First Year students name list. She could hardly believe that she would be middle school.

The young Liechtensteiner looked around and saw other students of her age bracket. They seemed more mature or older than her. Well, yes, since she was accelerated, she would be younger than everyone else by a year. But something about them made her feel so small. She had grown maybe a few millimeters since graduating, but still not enough. She had spotted Nicolette at the gate entrance earlier. Still smaller than her. But still, something about her changed, giving the impression of being mature. Maybe because she wasn't smiling anymore? Hm..Nicolette used to be a very playful and cheery girl back then. Thinking about all of those things made her feel less welcome. It seemed that getting a new look wasn't enough to fit in society.

Still, she was proud of being young and able to finish six years of primary school with honors. She regretted not being able to ask Vash what middle school felt like. But maybe, even if she did, she would most likely receive a boring answer like 'It's fine' or 'Not bad'. She sighed. That was her big brother for her. Maybe she would ask someone else; maybe Elizaveta or Katyusha.

Uplifted of the bad moods, she grinned and located her classroom. She was in a new school, away from her brother. It took a lost of persuasion for her to gain Vash's consent but she knew she would win in the end. After all, this was a chance for her to be able to stand up and fend for herself. Plus, it was a pretty nice school with better teaching standards. She would be able to find new friends, even. But the main reason Vash agreed was because his distant relatives Gilbert and Ludwig were also enrolled in that school.

"Hallo, Lilli!" yelled Gilbert. Ludwig was sitting behind him with the usual bored face. She settled for a small wave of a hand and sat at the vacant seat on the second row, next to the window. Bruder Gilbert and Ludwig hadn't changed much, except for Ludwig fixing his blond hair a bit and growing very tall compared to fifth grade. She frowned. Things were moving in such a fast pace.

And plus, they hadn't bothered to notice something she had changed about herself this school year? She sighed. Boys.

Maybe if Ivan was here, even from a mile away, he would notice. It felt lonely, not having him around.

Ivan took entrance exams in another school with Natalya. Katyusha was still in the same middle school, where they used to study back then as elementary students. It had pained her to leave but this was some kind of gateway to her new dreams. Yes, her dreams.

She never had any.

The girl was snapped out from her thoughts when the teacher entered. A grumpy-looking old man. Hm..she even missed Rome-sensei.

And now, middle school officially starts.

* * *

Class started at 7 in the morning and ended at 2 in the afternoon. It was a very hot day. School was a bit far from home, having to cross the shopping district first before going back to that old familiar street where she and Ivan used to play tag and yell at each other.

Ah, memories.

Memories are flooding.

Middle school was going to keep her busy for a while. She wondered when she might be able to meet up with her bestfriend.

She frowned. Ivan would most likely be occupied with school work and everything. Plus, he was old enough to be qualified for a part time job. No doubt he would apply. He had siblings to feed. And maybe some time later, he would get a girlfriend. Ivan getting a girlfriend? Not far from possible, but she didn't like it.

Well, she would indeed feel happy for him, but then..

"Ei, uh.. Something wrong, da?"

"Not now, Ivan. I'm still busy remin-"

Lilli turned back and saw a large shadow looming over her. Speak of the Russian.

"..Ivan?!" she gasped. "Wann did you grow so big?! A-and what are you doing here?!"

The Russian grinned widely. They hadn't seen each other since Vash's birthday after taking their separate entrance exams. From the way her Russian friend appeared, it looked like had someone sneaked growth supplements in his borsch. "Privet, Lilli! I was walking home when I saw this school and Vash! I saw Vash who looked like he was wearing a girl uniform and.. HEAVENS TO THE BETSY, YOU CUT YOUR HAIR?!"


	19. Chapter 19

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 19: Case of Mistaken Identity**

**a/n: Sorry if the last chapter was a bit too short. Lilli had now cut her hair, same fashion as Vash's.**

**Bella Peeters is Belgium. Human name from bluestorm369 of deviantart.**

**And as you know, Netherlands and Belgium have a little brother, Luxembourg.**

Lilli smiled as Ivan sat beside him, a cup of hot chocolate in hand. They were both sitting on one of the benches of the bustling shopping center. There was a huge population of students, some she had recognized as her classmates with their respective boy/girlfriends.

"Prastite, I thought you were Vash. Wearing a girl uniform.." said Ivan, sipping his hot chocolate.

"That's alright." said Lilli, taking the cup from Ivan and drinking at the other side. "Bruder Gilbert and bruder Ludwig are both my classmates. They hadn't even noticed."

"Oh, I see." said Ivan, staring dreamily at the passerby. "Natalya isn't my classmate, but she comes to my classroom whenever she has time. Which is probably once every 45 minutes. She doesn't care whether we have a teacher or not."

Lilli chuckled, handing Ivan the beverage. "That sounds like exactly like schwester Natalya. How is she?"

"Recently, she's been very angry at Toris." said Ivan, frowning, "I don't see a reason. Toris is a good guy, da? Well..recently, she's been hating everyone, even sestra.."

The Liechtensteiner rubbed her companion's back. He seemed very upset about the recent changes. "I think that's just teenager hormones."

"I hope so."

"By the way," added Ivan, eyes lighting up, "The Baltic Trio is living with us since our place was nearer to school. About school, Toris had the misfortune of being classmates with Natalya and little Raivis and Ed are with me."

"That sounds great!" grinned Lilli, "Then, I'll be able to visit you all without having to worry!"

"Let's just hope that my house doesn't explode, da?"

The two shared a lighthearted chuckle like the ones they used to have back then. Primary school days.

"Ivan, there you are!"

The Russian tilted his head up and saw the Baltic Three plus Natalya. Lilli waved at them happily. Everyone but Natalya had a large grin on their faces.

"Sveiki, Vogel-san! Haven't seen you a while!" Raivis gleefully laughed. Eduard greeted her formally while Toris smiled. Lilli smiled at Natalya. "Hallo, schwester Natalya."

"Privyet." said the Belarusian with a little less energy. Lilli tilted her head.

"Your haircut, though..Vogel-san." said Raivis, noticing her bob-cut. Lilli placed a self-conscious hand on her hair. "..Oh, this? I just figured I needed a new look."

Eduard nodded. "I think it's nice and more economical. I mean, it saves shampoo."

"You're right." the Lithuanian nodded, "...I suddenly remembered Feliks."

"We should be going home now, brat."

Everyone shot a glance at the largely-unnoticed Belarusian. Before Ivan could respond, Lilli stood up and smoothened the pleats of her skirt. "..Ja, she's right. My big bruder's recently applied for a job somewhere here. Would you like to come with me?"

"Da, that-"

"Nyet."

Once again, Natalya had gained everyone's attention.

"..I-I see. Then.." said the Liechtensteiner, "I'll be going-"

"I'm coming with you." said Ivan, with a closed-eye smile. He then gripped Lilli's shoulders and pushed her forward. "You four are going home, da? Take care then. Especially you, Natalya. Baltics, make sure no one goes near Natalya, da? You know what would happen if you do."

The three smirked. "Alright, alright. But be back before sundown so Yekaterina doesn't worry, okay?"

"Da, I will."

With that, they separated. Natalya kept her eyes on the two for quite a while. No one was able to read her eyes, but they were slowly narrowing.

"Natalya-"

Without warning, the girl grabbed the brunette by the collar and threw him to the ground.

* * *

Lilli fixed her eyes at the Russian. "Natalya seems to have changed."

She didn't get a response for a while. "Hoi, Ivan?"

Amethyst eyes perked up in response. "Chto?"

Lilli frowned. "Nothing."

The two walked in silence until they came upon a seemingly old-fashioned shop with wooden accents and warm saffron walls. It had a homey feel to it.

"Chocolate shop?"

Lilli grinned. "Do you remember Herr Govert Peeters?"

"Nyet." said Ivan, "But well..I think I have heard that..From..uh..From what was his name.. From Matvie?"

Lilli smiled and turned to the wooden beams of the house. "He was Katyusha's Dutch classmate, along with the Nordics, remember? He had gelled blond hair and..well..he had a scarf, too."

"Ah, da, da, I remember him."

"See? He was-"

"Nyet. I remember him because he is standing behind you."

Lilli whipped around and saw the towering Dutch man behind her. And yes, he looked like he had feasted on growth supplements for the last two years. Mint green eyes met shiny emerald ones.

"..Guten tag, Herr Peeters.."

"Privet, Mister Govert."

The Dutch's eyebrows furrowed. "Goede dag. For a while, I thought you were Vash." Turning to the Russian, who was as tall as him, if not taller, he continued, "And you.. You were-"

"Da, I was the one who hit the principal back in the winter games." Frankly, Ivan didn't want to talk about that again, but it was far by the most memorable part of the game.

"Ja, you were the Russian kid." said Govert, placing a large hand on Lilli's head. "Did you two come for Vash? He's inside."

Lilli's eyes brightened. "Danke schon, Herr Peeters. We promise not to disturb business." Govert nodded and removed his hand. Lilli pushed the glass door and inhaled the scent of freshly made chocolate. Ivan took one last look at Govert before entering the shop.

"Work here, da?"

Govert ran his fingers through his spiky blond hair. "Something like that. My parents manage the shop and my sister is an apprentice here."

"Hm, chocolate business, da?" smiled Ivan, "Good. It suits your personality."

Govert didn't know if it was an inside joke, a compliment or just a bad attempt to piss him off. All he knew was that it was bad for business to hit someone in front of the shop.

The wind chimes produced a sweet, tinkling sound as he entered. "Oh, welcome-"

"Privet, Zwingli."

"WHAT THE FICKEN ARE YOU DOING HERE, BRAGINSKI?!" yelled Vash, pointing his index finger rather harshly at the Russian. Most of the customers stared at their stand off. Lilli tugged at Vash's sleeve and flashed him a look. A gentle look, but enough for him to know that his previous actions did not please her very much. Or at all.

"..J-ja.." Vash's voice trailed off, lowering his finger. "Bad for business.." Ivan's face lit up with a million-dollar smile. Which only succeeded on making Vash more infuriated.

"Brat Zwingli is a salesman, da?" smiled Ivan.

Vash scoffed. "Ja, and if you aren't going to buy anything, please leave." Inside, he was beaming with pride. He managed to request him to leave without swearing.

Ivan laughed and was about to respond when a young girl with browned blond hair bounced up to Vash. "Don't be so rude, Vash. You're scaring customers away."

"I know, but this guy's the one whose scaring business away, Fraulein Bella."

"Ahaha, me?"

"Yes, you!" yelled Vash hatefully.

Ivan held his hands up in a surrendering stance. "Da, da, brat Zwingli. I understand, I was just accompanying Lilli home-"

"Nein, you will not accompany her home!"

"Lilli?" Bella Peeters turned to Vash's little sister. She fixed her eyes at the younger girl for a few good seconds. "..You know, you kinda look like my little brother Yann."

The young blond's eyebrows furrowed while Vash glared daggers at Bella. The latter raised her arms in surrender. "Well, sorry about that, Vash. It was just an opinion, no offense, okay, Lilli?"

Vash's little sister lightly scratched her cheek. It had been..well..how many times have she been mistaken as a boy this day?

...Five times.

* * *

After two more hours of yelling and getting infuriated, Vash's shift ended. Ivan waved goodbye and the three separated ways, with Ivan turning left and the Germanic siblings exiting the shopping district. But before that, for some reason, Vash was in the mood to treat Lilli for some food. The latter was extremely disturbed, as Vash never treats her to meals outside, except on her birthday and Christmas.

It was just some hole-in-the-wall selling small cakes of some sort. As Vash ordered two, one for both of them, the young woman in charge proceeded to carrying out orders. It simply took a mere minute for her to whip up the cakes and hand them over to Vash.

"Danke, bruder." smiled Lilli, taking her piece. Vash, like most doting elder brothers would do, ruffled her hair affectionately. The shopkeeper smiled at the sight of the two.

"You must really care about your little brother a lot."

Not again.

* * *

**Ficken- (Ger.) Okay, because German and English are closely related to each other, well..let's just say it's a German swear word that sounds like an English swear word, which is still a swear word and, y'know what? Just Google Translate it when no one's looking.**

**Sveiki- (Lat.) Hello**

**Goede dag- (Dut.) Good day.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 20: Femininity According To Two Awkward Men**

"She's been acting..very..weird ever since that happened."

"M-hm."

"And-and..I don't think it's really..well..uh..healthy for her. I-I mean, it's natural for teenagers to get insecure once in a while, but I think it's really affecting her and-and-"

"M-hm."

"And she's been asking me weird girl stuff, I mean, how the ficken am I supposed to know?!"

"M-hm."

"And, plus-"

"M-hm-"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!" yelled Vash, grabbing the jar of cookies Ivan was eating. The two were in the middle of a 'conference' about Lilli, who had been tormenting him with 'weird questions' he couldn't bear answer. It didn't help that Ivan was occupied with the food.

"I understand.." sighed Ivan. "Lilli is bothered about her hair and she's been asking you things like 'What makes a woman look like a woman'. I am right, da?"

Vash sighed and set the jar on the table. "Ja, and they're all too..deep for me to answer. I don't want to see Lilli get mistaken for a boy until her hair grows."

Ivan gave him a questioning look. It wasn't everyday he'd see Vash without his..chaotic neutrality. As if Vash voluntarily inviting him to his house wasn't weird in the first place.

"Why did you even let her cut it?"

"I didn't!" cried the elder brother, "She just..She just cut it without any permission..!"

Ivan raised and eyebrow. Vash simply had a weird look on his face. And by weird, according to Ivan, it looked like he was reminded of happy memories. "She cut it because she wanted to look like me. I mean that's sweet and all, but-"

"So, it's your fault-"

"SHUT UP! CAN'T YOU READ THE AIR ONCE IN A WHILE?!"

Ivan sighed. "..Da, da..read the air..the one Yao's little brother is good at.." Vash groaned.

"We're going too far from the topic." said Vash. He cleared his throat and Ivan rolled his eyes. With a pitiful expression, he continued, "I mean, she's adorable and I want her to know that."

The Russian nodded in response, though not even looking at him.

"I don't..I don't want her to feel sad. No big bruder would want to see their little schwesters sad, ja? Plus, if she thinks about it too much, she might end up..well..acting eratically-"

"Like you?"

"-Gott, because if she does.."

Ivan almost gasped. Normally, cutting Vash off would result into him screaming but now..he was getting too nervous that he didn't even realized that Ivan had thrown an insult at him. Vash was at the brink of crying. The Russian simply gave him eye contact, noting how his green eyes lost their fire. Then, he slowly shifted his gaze towards the jar of cookies and back to Vash.. Cookies, Vash, cookies, Vash.. Stared into Vash's eyes.. Extended an arm.. Pulled the jar towards him and placed it on his lap. Ha, Vash didn't notice.

"And finally.." Vash punctuated his pity speech, "I-I don't want her to be ashamed of the good looks she'd inherited from me-"

Ivan burst into high-pitched laughter.

Then, Vash bitch-slapped him.

* * *

"What makes a girl look like a girl...?"

The two men were slouched on the sofa, having the 'Thinker' pose.

"I think even if moya sestra cuts her hair, no one would mistake her fo-"

"That's because your schwester has-"

Vash stopped in the middle of the sentence with red cheeks. The worst question was when Lilli had asked about..that particular factor. He could still remember the horror.

_"Big bruder?"_

_"Ja, what is it now?"_

He could really still remember the sweet sound of her innocent voice.

_"I think my chest is too small."_

It was tear-jerking. Red-faced Vash gripped his hair tight and curled into a ball, his cries muffled by his clothing. It was bad enough to deal with the sentence, which was worse when little Lilli was..well..kind of..tweaking the said body part for effects.

"Huh? Zwingli?" Ivan frowned, poking him with a fork, "Zwingli~"

* * *

The whole living room was in a mess of a hundred magazines.

Fashion magazines.

"Mmm..I think her clothing is fine." said Ivan. He was at the other side of the table, gazing at a creative illustration of a tall glass of cream soda.

Vash nodded, leafing through a few fashion magazines. "All she has is some of her mother's old dresses. Her mother wasn't really that tall, either."

The Russian simply nodded. "Most girls in Russia wear fur coats and boots..and..well..heels."

Vash brushed the idea off. "She needs to emphasize her..well, face, not her shoes."

"I wouldn't like Lilli wearing heels, too.."

The Swiss sighed and dramatically shut the magazine. "I'd like her to dress conservatively. But these magazines aren't helping."

* * *

"Any progress?"

"Nyet." said Ivan, "The Internet only tells me to do stuff like put on makeup. I prefer Lilli without the makeup."

Vash groaned. "Makeup is too useless for me to spend on."

"Da. So if you don't mind, I will go on and do my searching business."

The Swiss grunted. It seems that the Internet had helped less than he thought. Ivan had been surfing for maybe a few minutes. He leafed through the 54th magazine and his ears twitched a bit. He was hearing a faint, persistent sound, something he thought he heard. It had repeated itself for the last few minutes and Vash knew that it was real. "What's that sound?"

"I do not hear any sound." said Ivan innocently.

"No, that sound." said Vash, walking up to the computer.

Ivan smiled crookedly. "What are you saying, brat Zwingli, there is no sound-"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"..uh," Ivan sweat-dropped, "..iz called Tetris in Russia-"

Vash let out an incoherent scream of rage and pushed Ivan away from the computer.

* * *

The two were sprawled on the carpet, wasted on their thoughts. The past few hours had been utterly unproductive for the two. Especially with Ivan.

"How long was it that we've been thinking..?"

Ivan rolled up his sleeve, staring at his wristwatch. "4 hours, comrade."

Vash groaned. "This is useless. From the start, I knew this'd fail."

"Do you really think I know about women?" whined the Russian, sitting on the couch. "You should've called up Lilli's Hungarian friend."

"Nein." said Vash, "I called you because you had two schwesters and thought that..."

The Swiss spaced out for a while, pondering about what he had said. "..Because your schwesters.."

"Schwesters.."

"Schwesters.."

Ivan unconsciously backed a few steps away as Vash muttered the same phrase again and again. He clutched a throw pillow, back pressed against the edge of the couch. Somehow, the scene seems to be familiar and Ivan himself knows it. He mostly looks like this whenever his little sister creeps him out. He was silently contemplating on whether he should suffocate Vash or not. But then, he settled for asking a question. "W-what about my sestras..?"

A few seconds of silence inserted itself in between the two.

Green eyes slowly brightened and the Russian clung to the pillow in horror as Vash jumped up and down, exploding in energy. The most disturbing part was that he had a wide Glasgow grin, reaching his ears. Maybe Tetris was bad for him?

"Why the ficken didn't I even think about it?!"

"I don't know!"

Ivan became more and more horrified as Vash started laughing. His gut told him that a laughing Vash was abnormal (Can't find the right words). "Your schwester! Your schwester has that bow on her head, right?! Maybe if I buy her something like that, then-then Lilli would..jaaa~"

With the sane message, the Russian's fear kind of left. "Da, I think that is a good idea."

"Good?! You mean great! Agh, seriously, why didn't we even think of that?!"

"You are a genius, Zwingli~"

With that, the two did some kind of awkward celebratory dance of joy, hand-in hand, screaming incoherent glee in their respective languages. This went on and on and on until..

"...Bruder? Ivan?"

The two were cut off, seeing Lilli and Ivan's two sisters on the doorstep. Ivan and Vash stared at each other, then at their hands. Awkwardly, they pulled away from each other.

Vash cleared his throat. "..W-welcome home."

The three simply nodded as they opened their mouths at the same time.

"Why were you two yelling swear words at each other?"

**If you guys didn't quite get the joke, the two were..well..'celebrating' by swearing..y'know. I'm not sure if it was a joke, too. I feel like I've killed the funny.**

**This is kinda based on a true story. I mean, it took almost a few hours for my brother and male cousin to solve a 'girl issue' (with the help of reading materials and the 'Net.). After coming to a painfully obvious conclusion, the two celebrated by..yelling ear-cringing swear words at each other in their respective languages (My cousin is Japanese and my brother is Filipino).**


	21. Chapter 21

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 21: Problem**

"Lilli, your boyfriend's there." Chelle called out. Lilli blinked before coming to terms on what her classmate really meant. She blushed, placing a self-conscious hand on her ribbon.

"..S-silly, Ivan isn't my boyfriend.."

Chelle flashed a teasing face. "Y'know, I'm actually rooting for you two."

Her blush became wider as she shoved off the comment with a laugh and bade goodbye. Chelle had been her friend since she transferred to her old alma mater, their elementary school. Come to think of it, she always had a habit of teasing her, especially when it came to romantic matters. But now, it was her time to be teased. Two guys from their former school, the infamous bickering pair of Francis and Arthur, had been taking an interest in the dark-skinned girl. Lilli sighed. How lucky was she, having a bit of excitement in her school life.

"Ah-"

She winced as she ran into someone. Lilli mentally scolded her for daydreaming before facing up and apologizing.

"O-oh, es tut mir Leid-"

"It's alright. I was looking for you, too."

Lilli flashed a questioning, innocent look as he led her into somewhere.

...

Ivan was in front of the gate, checking his wristwatch worriedly. Had something happened to her? He brushed off all thoughts as he focused his eyes towards the beautiful trees which somehow looked dying. It was autumn and winter was drawing near. Due to him being a natural-born Russian, he had come to hate the winter, although winter here was bearable compared to the ones from his home. But at least, he knew that his dedushka was going to visit them again. He had visited last year and missed the chance to meet Lilli. Now was the time he would introduce her to him.

_If_ she does not consider running away from the old man on sight. His dedushka somehow creeps people out a bit, the Baltics included. He grinned at the memory.

"Lilli's boyfriend?"

His ears perked up as he heard someone 'call' out to him. He smiled respectfully. "Privet, Chelle."

Chocolate eyes widened in delight. "So, you do remember me!" Looking around, her smile was slightly distorted when she realized Lilli wasn't with him. "..W-where's Lilli?"

Ivan frowned. "Well..I haven't seen her yet, and you?"

"Hmm.. She should've b-"

"Hey, Chelle, what-" The two turned towards two familiar Europeans. Arthur Kirkland sighed in dismay. "You again..?"

"How many summers, how many winters.." Ivan smiled lightly.

"Honnnn, I think we have just came upon our newest love rival." said Francis suggestively. Chelle blushed.

"H-hey, what are you two talking about?!" squealed the African, "He's already Lilli's boyfriend so quit it! I'm not in the mood.."

Arthur sputtered. "..By Lilli, you don't mean the bloody Swiss's sister..?! Seriously?!"

"Nyet, actually-"

"Not yet?"

"I said 'nyet'-"

"So that means you haven-"

"Non, mon ami, 'nyet' means 'no'. You two aren't understanding each other-"

"The important thing is, have you seen Lilli?" asked the Russian worriedly, "Because Vash will shoot me if I don't escort Lilli to the chocolaterie on time. Not that Vash shooting me is really surprising, but-"

The conversation was cut short by soft footsteps. Everyone stared at the girl in question.

"Lilli!" Ivan ran to her. Chelle noticed that she looked more downcast than earlier. Lilli simply tilted her head up and nodded. Ivan waved goodbye to the trio.

...

Ivan frowned. Lilli wasn't her usual talkative self today. He peered behind his shoulder. Her emerald eyes didn't have their usual shine today. As to gain her attention, Ivan stopped walking. Lilli bumped herself on his back.

She flashed a questioning look. Ivan sheepishly scratched his cheek. "Something wrong, da?"

Lilli blushed and shook her head, shuffling past him. Ivan simply tugged her sleeve.

"Brat Zwingli wouldn't like seeing you like that." said the Russian, "He told me that you hardly tell him your problems now. How about me? Mind telling your bestfriend, da?"

Ivan fixed her violet hair ribbon back in place. His bestfriend senses were tingling. Lilli didn't look very happy, but let him fix it. She could still remember Vash buying it for her, reluctantly admitting that he had Ivan help him with the idea.

"Very well then, let's talk about it."

...

Ivan sipped his hot chocolate as Lilli twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"..I was late because.." Lilli bit her lip, "..S-someone confessed to me."

"M-hm." Ivan grunted, swallowing the liquid. He was trying to act calm, but for some reason, he was feeling like..Vash. He was feeling the chaotic neutrality gushing through his veins and the urge to just kill someone. "Who?"

The girl self-consciously looked around before leaning to Ivan and whispering softly in his ear. Amethyst eyes widened as he screamed bloody murder.


	22. Chapter 22

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 22: How A Russian Gets Jealous (Does not apply to all)**

"Ты чо бля?! Ни кхуя себе!"

Lilli stared at her bestfriend open-mouthed. Ivan was the spitting image of Vash when hearing about something disagreeable- tossing himself around and ripping his hair out of his head. She wasn't the only one who was staring at him. Apparently, he forgot that they were both standing in the middle of the shopping district. Ivan was still spouting obscenities in his native language.

"Ivan.."

He attempted to respond, but when he looked at Lilli, whatever he wanted to say was automatically translated into Russian. He pointed at her and cried. He turned away, curled into a ball and 'kolled'. After a few weird minutes, he turned back to her and made some kind of 'awaaah' sound. For a while, he staggered, crossing the road like some demented floozy and not minding the cars that were wanting to flatten him into a Russian tortilla. As soon as he reached the other side, he hyperventilated, thereby terrorizing the innocent bystanders. Lilli couldn't quite see, or hear, but he was talking to himself in Russian in an attempt to calm himself down. Or to add plus points to his scariness. Or both. But after a few minutes of 'self counseling', he was okay. Breathing a bit erratic, but still okay. He had a smile, but then-

"Ivan, are you okay-"

The silverette made some kind of noise in between 'No' and 'I will saw that guy in half'. Then, he cried in Russian. Again. Somehow, he was glad that Lilli didn't understand him. She would be permanently brain-damaged if she somehow understood his..foreign language. Lilli crossed the road and approached him, grabbing his shoulders which was a bit hard if noting the height differences.

"Calm down, Ivan-"

"Nyet, I cannot calm myself down!" he finally spat out, shaking himself free from her weak grip, "I would rather be roadkill than see you with that guy-"

Lilli pulled him by the scarf before he managed to step off the sidewalk and cause an unsightly car crash. "Stop, Ivan, you must remember that it's _me_ whom he confessed to and not you..!"

He stopped. For a while, he was speechless. Then, he turned to her. "..Da, I know that.." Lilli sighed.

"Now you know, sit down, stop yelling and let's talk about it."

"DA!" the Russian yelled, "Vash will be saying this, but I will say it first- DO NOT SAY YES OR DA OR JA OR ANY POSITIVE RESPONSE TO HIM! BETTER YET, SHOOT HIM!"

"But Ivan-"

"OR ASK MISS HUNGARIAN ERLENA TO HIT HIM WITH HER PURSE-"

Once again, Lilli gripped his shoulders, snapping him out. "..First of all, it's Elizaveta, okay..? And ever since she entered middle school, she's been using a frying pan-"

"THAT'S BETTER THEN!" he cried, covering both his ears and sitting on his knees, kolling once more. Maybe Katyusha was right about Ivan sometimes being..well..in need of special attention. Lilli frowned and kind of wrapped her arms around him- a bestfriend thing.

"Oh, c'mon, Ivan, it's not that bad-"

"It's not that bad.." he froze.

For a while, he just stayed like that. Lilli was slowly getting scared.

"Y-y-you mean you.." Ivan looked up to her, "..you said 'yes' to that...that..that..b-that.." he stuttered, trying to think of a less offensive alternative, "..undesirable sorry excuse of a man so evil that hell itself spat him out?"

Lilli flashed an uncertain look and shook her head. "T-that's not what I mean, but, well, I..I think he's a good guy-"

"He bullied me in grade school~!" cried Ivan, voice flooding with pain.

"Ja..B-but most of the time, y-you won, right?"

Ivan stared at her and nodded, but had a face that screamed 'that still doesn't matter, I hate the guy and I will be jealous'. Lilli simply smiled and still hugged him. "Ivan, you really don't like him?"

The Russian bit his lip shyly. "..Da..and..I've read if you have a boyfriend, you'll lose two of your bestfriends."

"T-that's not true, who wrote that..?" the young girl frowned, "I won't lose time, promise-"

"You also promised that you weren't going to have a boyfriend until we turn 18, da?" said Ivan. Taking notice of Lilli's facial expression, he screamed, "You forgot~!"

The Liechtensteiner sighed. "Ja, I forgot.. But this, I will not forget."

"You swear on your life?"

"Ja."

Ivan lifted up his pinky as Lilli intertwined her smaller one into his. "Alright, promise."

"If not, you'll eat a thousand needles!" cried Ivan with conviction.

"Ja, ja, a thousand needles.." sighed Lilli, finishing their tiny 'bestfriend' ritual. She helped him up and proceeded to Peeters Chocolaterie. "But will you promise me that you will never ever tell bruder, ja?"

"I promise nothing-"

"Ivan..!"

"But he is a bad guy!" cried Ivan, "And Vash will really be against your relationship..if you do say yes. And think about it, he will be more pooped when he finds it out late...And-and-and-and.. T-that..мудак will probably have done something very undesirable to you and.."

Ivan looked like he was having an epileptic seizure. Lilli made a wise decision to ignore him and dealt with it until they finally went to the said chocolaterie. The two were taken aback to see Vash and his cousin Gilbert inside.

"..G-g-guten tag, bruder.." greeted Lilli. Then turning to the other Germanic, "..Bruder Gilbert."

The albino simply laughed a high pitched 'Kesesese' and there was something about Vash that looked a bit weird. Needless to say, Ivan wasn't very much in the mood to irritate the already irritated Swiss.

"..Bruder?"

Vash seemed to have a hard time looking at his precious little sister. "..L-Lilli..."

"Ja?"

Without turning his head, Vash fixed his eyes to the albino suggestively, then turned his eyes to Lilli. This repeated a few times and poor Lilli stifled her gasp. Ivan simply turned away, wanting to cry at the sour reunion.

Vash screamed. "SO IT'S TRUE?!"

"Kesesese, ja, I told you-"

The Swiss tackled Gilbert, unable to hold the seething cauldron of hell he was keeping in. Vash and Gil were killing each other, destroying the chocolaterie in the process (there were no customers). Though Ivan had wanted to join and do more than kill the Prussian, he simply turned to Lilli.

Then at Gilbert.

Then at Lilli again.

And had another convulsion.

* * *

Extra #1

Ivan, Gilbert and Vash were sitting in front of an infuriated Dutch man. The three had bruised faces, split lips and broken noses. Their appearances didn't help much and Govert was ready to explode anytime. Again.

Bella and Lilli were in the store, cleaning up some..things.

"Hm.. So that German with the red eyes there is your, uh.."

A slightly distraught Lilli blushed and sheepishly nodded. "Ja, he is my boyfriend."

* * *

**a/e (author explanation): Vash is related to the Beillschmidts by blood. Lilli is simply Vash's ward and not related to Vash in any way. Therefore, Lilli is not related to the Beillschmidts, making Gilbert and Lilli's relationship le-**

***gets clubbed by rifle***

**..And plus, the parts which I put in Cyrillic are actually Russian swear wor-**

***gets hit by faucet pipe***

**..I've read the the reviews and no one guessed Gilber-**

***gets hit by both***

**Ah, anyway, there's a reason why I picked Gilbert. And anyway, Lilli is only 13 without any experience about boys, so she thought that she needed to give him an answer already. Not wanting to offend him, she said 'yes'.**

**And another plus; there is a part where Ivan sits on his knees and chants, da? In Russia, sitting on the floor/stair steps/knees, etc. is considered bad etiquette. So, Ivan must really be very very depressed about the situation-**

**"-Da, konecheno, why are you so evil?!"**


	23. Chapter 23

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 23: Seeing Red**

"Hey, you aren't coming with us?"

Ivan turned around as a response to Eduard von Bock. He must've noticed that he had been stuffing his books into his bag hurriedly.

"Well.." Eduard muttered, feet shuffling awkwardly, "Na- M-Miss Natalya wants you to come walk with us home."

Eduard was fidgeting nervously, which only made the towering silverette chuckle. "Heavens to the betsy, Eduard, what's with the 'Miss Natalya' thing? Did she threaten you too, comrade?"

Eduard pushed up his glasses. "..Well..she does threaten everyone.."

Ivan nodded understandingly. "Prastite, comrade, but please tell Natalya that I can't." Ivan paid no heed to his companion's seemingly terrified face and continued with a closed eyed smile. "Moy dorogoy Lilli is probably waiting for me by now."

Just about when he was about to respond, another voice cut in. A female voice cold with a distinct harshness. Ivan shuddered.

"..P-privet, sestra-"

"It's always Lilli this and Lilli that." Natalya growled, sending chills to both men's spines, "First, you call her a friend, comrade, and here you are, calling her 'dorogoy' behind her back. That zhenshchina..." her eyes narrowed. Before she could say anything else, Ivan stopped her. But she wouldn't concede. Eduard cowered at the two powers colliding, especially when he could sense Ivan's voice rising in tone.

"I told you-"

"That zhenshchina has a boyfriend, she will not love you, no matter what you do-"

"Natalya Alfrovskaya."

Eduard was slightly thankful that something made the fiercer younger sister stop. It was then he realized that Natalya was actually looking a little less confident. Her posture wasn't even as straight as earlier. The tide has changed. Even if Natalya was more dominant than her elder brother, she knew enough that nothing good comes out on the rare occasions that Ivan refers to her by her full name.

"Z'drovo." he smiled. It was a terrifying smile, an icy, bone-gripping cold smile. Natalya bit her lip as he put a 'reassuring' arm on her shoulder. "Natalya, I do not want to be hearing you taking out your anger on our friends, especially Lilli. Be home before sundown."

When Natalya didn't respond, Ivan applied a bit more pressure on her shoulder. Eduard shuddered as Natalya was visibly wincing. "..D-da." she managed to squeak. Immediately, he removed his hand.

"Good. Eduard, please make sure nothing wrong will happen today." said Ivan, and still had that terrible grin.

* * *

He was literally rushing to see his dear bestfriend. Talking with her younger sister was definitely a waste of time. Even though that man he despised so, Gilbert Beillschmidt, had been kindly walking with her to the chocolaterie, Ivan wasn't trusting him. He didn't trust someone who smiled like that. He's had some disturbing thoughts about him actually escorting Lilli home while Vash was working himself out in Govert Peeters' shop. If he ever tries to pressure her into doing something, she would crack. Succumb under pressure. Like a fine piece of glassware slowly cracking at the face of force. Like the numerous vodka bottles he had broken by wrapping his gloved fingers around them. Lilli was innocent, inexperienced. But as much as he wanted to keep her that way, he wished her naiveness would dissipate into thin air, and yet, keep that innocence he so admired.

If only the world was that easy.

Once again, he was in front of the gate, garnering the stares of simple-minded beings who wondered why he kept on trailing the girl who already had a boyfriend. He smiled bitterly at the thought. He detested it.

When he realized he had been late for maybe a few minutes and Lilli had left, he ran out to the direction of Peeters' chocolaterie, hoping that Gilbert hadn't taken her to some shortcut he knew.

His temper was seeping through his smile. A thick glass bottle would've smashed with ease with the way he was clenching his fist.

"Ivan?"

The Russian whipped around to see..he sighed in relief. It was Lilli. His smile would've gotten wider if it weren't for the fact that he was hand-in-hand with her boyfriend. Yes, he had to accept it whether he liked it or not. But, still, he was happy. Or relieved. The fact that the two were with Lilli's Hungarian friend and her Austrian lover or something made him feel at ease. Both acknowledged his presence by waving at him from a distance. Gilbert, however, wasn't very pleased with him. Lilli gave her boyfriend 'the look', reprimanding him. Ivan snickered. Roderich and Eliza went back from the stall and approached them, handing Lilli and Gilbert their respective cans of softdrink. Being their habit as closely-knitted friends, Lilli offered Ivan some of her soda.

"Nyet, I'd have to decline." he smiled. "I am glad though, that your boyfriend is more generous than your brother in situations like these."

Roderich and Eliza stared at the albino, who was shifting uncomfortably under everyone's gaze. Emerald eyes looked up at the Russian. "What do you mean?"

"Chto?" Ivan furrowed his eyebrows, but feeling somehow superior, "Beillschmidt senior did not pay for your drink?"

Gilbert sighed as Lilli, in all honesty, shook her head. Ivan resisted the urge to humiliate the poor chap in front of his girlfriend. But deep within, he was mentally calculating on how long these two would last. Ivan hoped it would end very soon, as not to break Lilli's heart. If he catches his bestfriend crying because of her boyfriend, then the bastard is not going to live long.

"Well then, as I have spare money, I will treat you to some ice cream." said Ivan, fishing out his wallet. Lilli was about to decline when Ivan persuaded her, saying that he would like some as well. It wasn't very hot, but indeed, he was in the mood for ice cream. Back in Russia, he would be enjoying morozhenoe with his sisters even in December. Before leaving for the stall, he shot Gilbert a not-so-cocky but triumphant glance.

One point for Braginski.

* * *

Ivan fiddled with his necktie. The two were walking together out the shopping district, both done with escorting Lilli safely to her brother.'The two', as referred here, are the very bad combination of Beillschmidt senior and the demented Braginski. Both were paying no heed to each other and were creating the beautiful illusion that the other didn't exist. Things were going a bit too well.

Until Beillschmidt senior made a bad decision of breaking the silence.

"I don't really get why you have to walk Lilli all the way to the chocolaterie." He received no response, as he didn't really give any hint that he was talking to Ivan. Gilbert decided to stop in front of the walking Russian. Ivan simply stared at him with cold violet eyes.

"Da?"

Gilbert groaned. "Geez, what are you, her frustrated stalker or something?"

Ivan's eyes narrowed a bit. He did not like that word. For a while, he was unaware that he wasn't smiling as usual. "Nyet, what makes you say that?"

"I mean, you go out of your way to just accompany her to the chocolaterie." said Gilbert, "And that is such a bother, not to mention unawesome."

Ivan rolled his eyes towards the sky. Gilbert's eyes glinted. "The awesome me will be taking care of her now, so don't be too flashy just because you have the budget to buy her ice cream-"

"Nyet, that's not exactly why I did that." said Ivan, his temper slowly seeping out of his smile, "You see, Beillschmidt senior, it is a terrible shame to let a lady pay for herself, especially a young one. That is what sets Russian men apart from others. And also, Beillschmidt senior-" the young Russian had a very different aura from before. The air wasn't magically turning into a creepy purple, but it was noticeably heavier. "-if you were in Russia, you would not be considered a man."

Ruby red eyes narrowed, but still had a wicked smile. "It's very unawesome to think that you can get a girl to love you by paying for her food. You can't buy love, Braginski. That's why rich people are unawesomely miserable."

Ivan had a small smile but his amethyst eyes were visibly stained in pain. He chose to cover it up with his best imitation of a smile, one worthy of a 'best actor' award. "I'm not buying her love. I am simply giving her mine. And to mistake the one for another, like you say, is unawesome. "

With that, he waved at the slightly dumbfounded albino and took a left turn. He didn't know whether to count that as another victory over him or not. But as far as he knew, he wasn't buying her love. He didn't know how to show love other than that. In all honesty, he didn't know.

He was hardly loved before.

* * *

He was cut out of his deep thoughts when a brunette sat opposite at him on the dinner table. It was a very quiet night, most of his companions are asleep. Toris smiled and handed him a portion of the little stash of candy he kept (more accurately, hidden) for himself. If Raivis had found out, it would immediately disappear in a heartbeat. Ivan nodded and promised to keep it a secret. He had other things to worry about aside from candy.

"Is that vodka?" Toris looked over his tall, opaque mug. It had a shiny yellow glaze, not really his type of color, it was special nonetheless, a birthday gift from Lilli.

Ivan scrunched his eyebrows. "How did you know?"

"The smell." he grinned, and busied himself with the candy. As much as Ivan, on any other day, would love the younger boy's company, but in this situation, he liked being alone, more time to think over things.

"Why are you here?"

Toris looked over him with a questioning stare. He shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. I wanted some candy, and I saw you here-"

"I see." he nodded. The Baltic looked over him, and Ivan could feel it.

"And I'd like to talk to you, too."

The Russian shrugged his shoulders. "Da, konecheno, comrade. What would you like to talk about?"

"How about you, what would you like to talk about?"

Ivan didn't like that. Toris was giving him some kind of sympathy, which he was uncomfortable with. It didn't matter if it was an act of friendship or such. All he knew was that when he'd look back at this same situation, he would feel bad if he succumbs. He didn't like giving others problems. Or more honestly, tell other people about his present problems. They were nothing compared to the problems of the world, such as the country's economy, or underage children forced into labor, as Yao Wang had once told him about.

"Well.." the Lithuanian stammered, "I can't thank you enough for letting me and my cousins stay here. It's natural that I help you."

Did he really look that pathetic? Sad? Ivan didn't know. And Toris similarly didn't know what was about to happen to him.

"If you insist, comrade.." a gloved hand reached up to play with the soft fabric of his scarf. "I would like to talk about this." Ivan grinned at Toris' shocked response, which slowly turned into a smile. A particular smile Ivan expected him to have.

"This scarf is my treasure. I hope you do know that it is my big sestra who knitted this, da?"

He liked the face Toris was having. He's seen it a lot of times. Ivan noted that his companion wasn't making any effort to stop him, so he continued. "It's always here for me. It's like the friends I never had." Toris opened his mouth, as if to say something, but he declined. "It's always so warm, so fluffy, I can sleep anywhere, even in a bed of nails as long as I'm wearing it. Truthfully, I can't imagine life without it."

Toris smiled. "I see. It's a nice scarf."

Ivan's hand was still playing with the hem. "Do you want to know the story?"

Though Toris didn't really know what 'the story' was about, he shrugged his shoulders. Ivan leaned comfortably on his chair and fixed his eyes on the ceiling. The paint was shriveling, peeling off from time and exposure to the elements, baring the dull grey hidden from the colorful gloss.

He needed to repaint.

But, it can wait.

And he was going to let a small part of it show.

"It was a freezing winter in Ukraine when she gave it to me." Ivan smiled fondly at the memory, "We were starving. Dedushka had gone to hunt and forage for us. Three of us were sick with fever. But still, sestra finished this long and beautiful scarf and wrapped it around me. She had also made Natalya a pair of large mittens, even when she was visibly shivering. I tried to give it back to her, but she declined, saying instead that I should look happy when I wear it. That was how much sestra loved us. All her love is what fastens the cloth fibers together."

Ivan's cheeks were warming up at the memory. "Which is why it means the world to me."

Toris nodded. "It's why you never take it off, right?"

"Da. As a matter of fact, other than laundry, I have only removed it for more than a day twice." Toris' fingers tapped against his knees. It was the first time he had been intimidated by Ivan's eyes. He could hardly make any eye contact.

"..Well.." Toris pursed his lips, "..When?"

"First was when I was five. It wasn't a really good memory, but someone took it from me." he smiled. The smile was indeed intimidating that anyone who would look into his dark amethyst eyes would feel puny compared to him. "..The second one was when someone stole it from me back at fifth grade."

Toris almost yelped when cold amethyst eyes directed at him. "You wouldn't know who could possibly steal from me, da, comrade?"

The Lithuanian bit his lip, meekly taking small glances at Ivan. "..N-no."

He rested his head against his hand, taking a sip of vodka. "Mm, too bad. I thought you would know. You see, comrade, I will not be caught dead without this scarf." He once again toyed with the edges, "But I can make today an exception."

Toris felt his sanity slowly being eaten away when Ivan placed another finger on the said piece of clothing. He could swear that the throbbing rhythm of his heart should've woken up Ed or Raivis. He prayed to God someone would save him from the situation. Even if the lights would just explode from it's sockets and wound them both, he would not mind. Just take him away from this moment.

Ivan grinned, stood up quite noisily from his chair and picked up his yellow mug. Toris had just yelped from the sudden movement, hardly breathing from nervousness. He whimpered softly as the towering Russian loomed behind him.

"My bad, comrade. It will take a lot of vodka to unsee that, da?" Toris shut his eyes as a broken stream of wet slid down from his rich brown locks, brows and cheeks. This went on quite a while and Toris could feel warmer, saltier streams trickle down from his eyes and pores. It felt cold. It felt incredibly cold. Ivan grinned as he turned the mug upside down, observing every last clear drop.

"I hope that helped, comrade, lest what you have seen will bother you in your sleep." he smiled. "You should go to bed now and forget everything. I trust you will not speak this to anyone, da? Otherwise, you will be crying red stuff the next time we meet. Spokoynoy nochi, Toris."

He shuddered at the sound of the mug being placed at the countertop. His hair was damp and feeling uncomfortable, smelling like alcohol. Ivan stretched his arms, feeling feverish with delight. If the mug wasn't a gift from Lilli, he wouldn't have any second thoughts on pushing it against Toris' temple, until either the mug or the lad's skull cracks. It had taken him a lot of self-control to prevent that from happening. He didn't know why, but it felt good, seeing that particular look on someone's face.

But he wasn't satisfied.

He locked his door silently and smiled, pulling out something shiny amidst the forgotten pile of whatever heaped up inside his lowermost drawer. He was in the mood to see something red again.

**zhenshchina- (Rus.) girl**

**dorogoy- (Rus.) dear, darling**

**konecheno- (Rus.) of course**

**spokoynoy nochi- (Rus.)**

**Well, according to what I researched, Russian men always pay for a woman. If there is some part you don't understand about the story, feel free to PM me, and by the time this story ends, you will probably learn a lot about psychology...from a 15 year old kid from the Philippines. (Yep, turned 15 yesterday!) Hope it doesn't sound all that boring 'cause I'll make it as less-boring as I can.**

**-Char Tomio**


	24. Chapter 24

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 24: A Very Bad Date**

Lilli placed a self-conscious hand on her ribbon. It had taken Vash a half month to accept the whole 'Gilbert is now Lilli's boyfriend' thing and that was just the beginning. Two more passed by before he could accept that Gilbert was taking Lilli on a date to the zoo. Well, it could've taken him less time if it weren't for the fact that an extremely horrified Ivan informed him loudly (more accurately screamed) 'ZWINGLI, GILBERT IS TAKING LILLI TO THE ZOO!' in a manner that made him think that the albino was exhibiting his little sister behind bars. Vash knew that Ivan's choice of words wasn't the best, but he could've at least said 'Gilbert and Lilli are going to the zoo'. Without the screaming. That would've helped.

But if you ask Ivan, he would just blush and giggle (in a way that terrifies people), remembering the time he choked and flung Gilbert around like a rag doll when..let me give you a better visual;

...

Gilbert, grinning: Braginski!

Ivan, with an 'Oh dear God, why is he still alive' look.: Privet, Beillschmidt senior, what are you doing here?

The last sentences were spoken in a thick Russian accent that said 'Get out, пиждетс'. It took a lot of self restraint on not adding 'the hell' in between 'what' and 'are'. Be nice to Lilli's boyfriend, he reminded himself.

Gilbert: Oh, nothing, I just wanted to tell you that I'm taking Lilli to the zoo-

All thanks to Gilbert's poor choice of words, Ivan interpreted it in the worst way possible. He strangled the albino, interrogating him about his plan of 'taking Lilli to the zoo'. Needless to say, his interrogation served utterly fruitless as Gilbert didn't understand Russian. And plus, poor Beillschmidt senior's brain had a very hard time registering everything with Ivan slamming his head against the display tables-

They forgot that they were once again killing each other in the chocolaterie (No customers today).

It ended with Govert entering ths shop and bellowing in Dutch (which were likely swear words), ultimately breaking their noses before breaking into tears in the backroom.

...

The Zwingli siblings looked at Ivan, who was grinning dreamily at particularly nothing. He was probably having his weird and awfully sadistic flashbacks about the past weeks with Gilbert. Meanwhile, the said man was in front of the giraffe cages, annoying a couple (Roderich and Elizaveta) who were taking pictures. This was originally going to be a double date..

"Bruder," Lilli called out, looking up at her less-than-pleasant brother, "I understand why Ivan is here, but-"

"It's for the same reasons." Vash huffed, holding his little sister's hand. Lilli knew that it was normal for Vash to be worried about her growing up, but holding her hand in the presence of her older friends was too much. Still, she knew it was again for her own good and didn't question his actions. She almost yelped as someone took hold of his other hand. She blushed. Vash glared.

"Whaat?" frowned Gilbert, "I can't hold her hand?"

"Nein. Get off."

Gilbert was about to respond when he jerked, feeling something large and leathery grab his hand. Ivan simply smiled. "I do not like being cast away by the family, Beillschmidt senior." Lilli grinned. She didn't know how many times her bestfriend and her boyfriend had tried to kill each other behind her back.

And for a moment, Vash felt embarrassed at the..the..awkward family picture they seemed to have. Lilli gazed at Gilbert as the latter gave her hand a little squeeze. She had warmed up a bit to him and had gotten a few romantic gestures from him. She tightened her grip on his hand lightly as a response.

And once again, Lilli was oblivous that the seemingly romantic squeezing language was an effect brought by the Russian crushing Gilbert's fingers. The latter's pale face was slowly turning as red as his eyes. His poor girlfriend simply thought that he was pleased by her responses to his romantic attempts.

Everyone flinched as Gilbert let out a large gasp and abruptly let go of Lilli's, attempting to pry his hand out of Ivan's vicegrip. It simply ended up with Gilbert wanting to mourn for his broken fingers, yelling something that ended up in 'Are you insane?!' and Ivan responding 'A little'. Vash simply shoved his little sister away to join the more mature crowd.

...

"This is a really nice spot, is it not?" Elizaveta smiled at Roderich, who just nodded. Gilbert huffed and stared at the view. They were at some restaurant in the middle of the zoo, which was situated at the fifth floor of this certain building, overlooking the whole of the zoo and the city. They had the best spot- on the terrace. The view was breathtaking as the warm, golden red colors of the sunset gleamed.

Vash tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, impatient. Lilli was sitting, occasionally looking around the restaurant and Ivan was..well..hunger and boredom drives people to do weird things.

Lilli looked underneath the table. Ivan was opposite her, folding the little paper napkins placed neatly in front of them. He was a bit disappointed that they wouldn't hold their shape. The girl fiddled with her hair ribbon and thought she was just imagining things-

There it was again.

She was feeling a bit..well..weird. There was something, or rather, someone kicking her underneath the table. Vash would never do that. Eliza seemed busy with Roderich, and the latter was simply keeping his posture perfect as ever. Gil was likely to do that, but it seemed that he was just focused on the earlier two. Ivan..well..

"Something wrong, da?" he smiled at her.

Everyone looked at Lilli and the latter shook her head. Ivan gave up altogether on the tissue origami and reached out for the salt and pepper shakers. She sighed and rested her head down for a while when a shoeless foot stepped on her mary janes.

"Gilbert."

"Whaat?" the albino cried in a tone used when accused of something.

Lilli sighed and shook her head. The more mature ones asked if there was something wrong and when she denied, everyone went back to business. The food was indeed taking too long.

"Quality takes time, comrade." Ivan said to no one in particular. Vash scoffed and removed his gaze from the round dinner table. What he saw next made him speechless. Everyone knew that look. The waiter had a smile on his face, holding up a tray. Everyone at that particular table, save for Ivan, followed the man's every move and were victory dancing in their heads in glee..

When the said man just went past them and served their food to another table.

Ivan furrowed his eyebrows at the eerie silence. He paused his work, looking up to everyone whom he shared the table with.

He laughed so hard.

The other four glared at him.

"..I know, comrade.." Ivan breathed, still laughing at their faces, "..T-the heartbreak of seeing the waiter serve up your food to another table, but-" He wiped his tears of laughter, "-Y-your faces..! You all look so hopeless and dead and-and.."

Vash covered Lilli's lady ears as Ivan began spouting all sorts of horrors featured in '1000 Ways To Die' and '10 Most Brutal Torture Techniques'. The weirdest thing that freaked everyone out was that he was laughing. Seriously, there was nothing to be said at that time. They didn't even notice the waiter coming up to them and placing their respective orders in front of them. The enticing smell of food wasn't enough to get rid of their horrible mental pictures. And when they looked at it..the food wasn't as appetizing as before.

After a few traumatizing minutes, Ivan finally stopped laughing and proceeded to pray before eating. This did nothing to prove his innocence to the others.

...

Ivan finished first (how he finished a very large plate of curry rice in a short period of time is not very surprising) and proceeded to continue his unfinished work- a salt and pepper mosaic. Vash didn't want to look at it because the subject was as traumatizing at it is. Lilli and Eliza finished their meal earlier than the rest as their servings were much smaller. As she looked over the boys, who were busy eating, something broke her out of her trance.

That annoying foot.

She decided to just let it be. After all, it worked when Ivan was turning a little loony. Maybe it would-

Taptaptaptap

Lilli caught the foot in between hers and pulled on it harshly.

A lot of things happened at once.

Roderich ducked as his half-eaten schnitzel flew out of the terrace.

From a distance, the sound of a plate breaking and a lady screaming was heard.

Gilbert's mashed potatoes forcefully ended up on his hair.

Vash swore very loud as he spilled hot coffee on his pants.

All this happened because Ivan, who was sitting in between them, suddenly got pulled by something underneath the table, accidentally flipped it over and showering everyone with the food. Worse, Ivan's salt and pepper mosaic sprayed up all over them (except for the lucky bastard, who was sitting on the ground, covered by the white tablecloth), sending manly tears to everyone's eyes.

Ivan tilted his head up and removed the covers to take a look. He saw the unholy terror his masterpiece (the mosaic) had brought upon. Seeing that laughing at their horrible faces wasn't going to be good for anyone, he held in his laughter.

Awkward silence enveloped the group as the staff stared at them.

Everyone stared at each other, agreeing on something without even talking.

_"This is the last time we will be bringing the Russian to dinner."_

_Extra #1_

"Welcome home, Vanya." Yekaterina smiled, "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

Yekaterina, Natalya and the Baltics stared at Ivan as the latter dropped to the ground laughing.

This continued on about ten minutes.

_Extra #2_

"If he doesn't stop within a half-hour, let's call the doctor."

"Eduard's father works in the hospital, ja?" asked Raivis.

Eduard nodded gravely. "To be precise, he works in the morgue."

* * *

**In Russia, they say that it's bad luck to spill salt on the table. I'm sorry if I made another filler chapter. I couldn't help it. And I'm sorry if it isn't zoo-centric. I don't really know what could go wrong in the zoo, so I simply made up the dinner for it. And yes, I had some ideas from Mr. Bean.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 25.1: Reflections**

"My birthday gift. You have not forgotten that I have two birthdays, da?"

Lilli craned her neck to look up at her much larger friend. She smiled. Today was one of the rare days where the two got to spend time together without Gilbert Beillschmidt. And these were the days Ivan loved the most.

Sort of.

"Of course I haven't forgotten." Lilli smiled, "But it's still days away. Don't worry, Ivan. I never forget special days."

The Russian grinned. He had two birthdays, as he never really got to know which one is real. His birth certificate, as it was arranged three years after the day he was born, had given the date, December 30 as his date of birth. But as far as he remembers, his grandfather had celebrated it at the start of summer, and coincidentally, one month before his bestfriend's birthday, June 12. And of yes, Lilli gave him a gift, one for his June birthday, one for Christmas, and one for his December birthday, which might as well count as a New Year's birthday. Though she and Ivan would sometimes have arguments about Christmas, he returned the favor by giving her Christmas gifts twice a year.

"Let's spend Christmas in my place. Help me cook." Ivan suggested, smiling. He had kept asking her that for the past three years now, but Vash wouldn't concede. They weren't able to see each other during Christmas since the Zwinglis spent their in Roderich's place. Also, he planned on finally introducing Lilli to his dedushka so-

"Es tut mir Leid, I can't."

Ivan pouted. "..Okay. Why does Mister Edelstein always have to take you away from me?"

He noticed the not-so-normal look on her face. As usual, he asked if there was something wrong. He regretted asking.

"A-actually, Vash is spending this Christmas working." Lilli shuffled uncomfortably.

Ivan furrowed his eyebrows. He himself had also taken a job at the chocolaterie and mostly sees Vash complaining about work, boredom and both. "Uh..I'm sure it's not because he actually loves working.."

The Liechtensteiner stifled a chuckle, which eased Ivan a bit. "You're right. It's not because of that." Unconsciously, he frowned as Lilli's sweet expression darkened. "..It's..because I'm going out with Gilbert for Christmas."

He was about to respond when Lilli defensively cut him off, adding that they would be together with Roderich and Eliza. But it wasn't enough to actually keep him from feeling..forgotten? Was that it? Forgotten?

"..W-wouldn't brat Zwingli be a bit jealous?"

As much as he wanted to deny it, he had always been jealous.

Lilli bit her lip. "..I don't know if this is the right decision..but..big bruder had already told me it was okay.."

And as much as she herself wanted to deny it, she had been spending too much time with Gilbert that Ivan felt like some sort of unnecessary, unwanted accessory, which he wasn't. The sad look on his face was enough to make her heart shatter in a hundred pieces. But what she doesn't know that his always shatters into a million pieces everyday, whenever he sees her laughing with the man he hated so much.

Ivan bit his lip nervously, tearing his gaze away from her momentarily. The sky was in a dull gray, the clouds looked heavy, the snow felt soft and cold on his feet. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. He wasn't going to let it show yet. With Lilli, he was happy. He was Lilli's happy friend. Beillschmidt senior probably gives her enough problems, so it was his job to rid her of it. Not give her more. He winced, feeling a hole materialize in his heart. He didn't know if it was real, but it was there. He could feel it. It would appear out of nowhere, just engulfing all of his feelings until he would feel empty and useless and..forgotten. The black hole was getting bigger. _Go away, go away.._

Swallowing very hard, he turned around. Lilli was there, worried.

"H-have you ever considered that..."

Lilli was nervous. "..That.."

Ivan gulped. Dark purple eyes were glassy.

And formed into wide arcs as he smiled.

"Have you ever considered that maybe brat Zwingli likes Mister Peeters' little sestra?"

Lilli could hardly speak for a few minutes. "S-schwester Bella?"

Ivan grinned and commenced a conversation Vash nor Govert Peeters must never hear of. Everything was back to normal. He was laughing, Lilli was laughing, everything was normal.

How he hated change.

...

"Beillschmidt senior makes you happy, da?"

It was uncalled for.

He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

He was smiling, but didn't repeat himself when she flashed a questioning look.

Ivan tried to keep a straight face when Lilli nodded and responded positively. No doubt Gilbert made Lilli happy. Even as he reflected back as an ill-mannered delinquent (which the man actually was) in Ivan's eyes, he still made his precious bestfriend happy.

She loved him.

And he loved her.

And it was enough for Ivan himself.

The Russian's eyes drifted dreamily up the dull sky. Snow fell very softly compared to Russia.

"If he makes you happy, then I guess he isn't that bad." Ivan smiled. He looked up at the store's wooden signboard. It was his favorite part of the store- the swinging wooden signboard embellished with the name of the shop and the Peeters' chocolaterie's own logo. True, he had took a job there- just in charge of heavy lifting and helping reach things on the highest shelves. He had just been recently paid as his first months' work were dedicated to make up for everything he destroyed with his constant bar fights with Gilbert. And for one reason, it kept him with Lilli. He had a reason to accompany her everyday. It was simply an excuse in disguise, as not to make Gilbert suspicious. The latter had been tormenting Ivan quite a lot behind Lilli's back, telling him to 'back off' and other things.

"What's this?" asked Lilli, trying to grab a clothed package strapped against his shoulder. She had seen it slung lazily on his back for a few days but had never really paid attention to it, not while Gilbert was around. She made an effort to grab it when she met resistance, and the two, reliving their childhood moments, played a game of tag, wanting to know the reason behind that secret package.

When he noticed that she was tiring out, Ivan came to a halt and held up the 3 feet long package where she could not reach it. He placed another hand on her forehead, keeping her away. He smiled, telling the girl that she had shrunk quite a lot since middle school. Or maybe he was just growing too tall?

"This is a baseball bat, comrade." Ivan smiled, still keeping her at bay, "As much as I hate to tell you this, I did not get chosen for our team, which is why I practice extra hard on my, how do they call it..batting skills. You should see me play some time, da?"

Lilli seemed a bit content with his explanation as she stopped pushing and settled down. With a wide grin, she gazed up at him. "We should go play today!"

**Chapter 25.2: Christmas**

**a/n: I skipped the whole 'date' thingy. Because..this is RussLiech, not PruLiech. (Sorry if I offended anyone, but it simply a matter of opinion. I much prefer Fryingpangle.)**

Lilli lost her blank stare when she felt a larger, warmer hand grasp hers. Bright ruby eyes glowed brightly. She loved the vibrant color of his eyes.

It was the 24th of December. The snowfall was light, the temperature was, as Ivan describes, far more bearable than the ones in Russia. She had finished their little Christmas party with Roderich, Eliza and Gilbert. Vash and Ivan tagged along before their shift in Peeters' but left early, giving the couples some alone time together. They were probably working extra hard tonight, as their chocolate and fruitcake were very much in demand.

Alone time wasn't as good as Lilli had thought it was. She and Gilbert were currently somewhere in the shopping center. Eliza had sort of told Gil to take Lilli back to the chocolaterie, giving the two ample time to talk about personal relationship thingies.

Lilli was lost in her own thoughts. The truth was, she had asked Eliza for help about Gilbert. She wanted to know more about him without being suspicious. She wanted to be more comfortable when talking about Gil.

For short, she wanted more communication.

Of course, Eliza was more than okay with that. Eliza knew a lot of stuff about Lilli. Things that she could never tell Vash about.

But anyway, Eliza simply gave the two the proper time and place to talk. The shopping center seemed to be fine. There was a lot of buzz, and no one would be able to hear their conversation.

She hoped so. It was hard to make a move, especially when you're a girl.

Then, she remembered Ivan.

Not really self-confident, but somehow managed to get his point around. And he somehow boosts his self-confidence by..talking to himself. Maybe that would work for her. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, mentally encouraged herself..

This was so not working. Lilli blushed. It was even embarrassing. Taking another deep breath, she composed herself and gave herself a piece of advice she knew she needed.

'Lilli, you can do it.'

Her eyes fluttered open. Where did that come from?

There was lighthearted laughter in the dark space of her mind.

'If he really does love you, then he will listen, da?'

Unconsciously, she smiled.

No other voice would be suitable for encouragement than his.

He was there.

In her heart.

Her dear bestfriend.

"Lilli."

She whipped around, all tensed. "..Ja?"

Gilbert gave her a skeptical look. "You look awfully weird today."

The girl panicked. Was it something about her appearance or mannerisms? Maybe it was the dress, or her hair, but-

"Stressed?"

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. With her natural poise and grace she always had, she responded. "Actually, I have something to give you."

Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows as Lilli fished out a beautifully wrapped package. As Vash wasn't really keen to give her money for presents, this was the best she could give him. The albino somehow hesitantly accepted it and tore it open.

Lilli's eyes brightened at the sight of a smile. He seemed to like it. Her handmade gift- a pair of wool mitts. Plain Prussian blue, his favorite color.

"Danke schon, liebling." Gilbert smiled, carefully tucking them back in their package. He had gloves on and intended to use the mitts for sleeping in. Lilli smiled brightly. The fact that he thanked her was enough. "And this.." he continued, folding his sleeve and removing the steel bracelet he had always worn, "..is the only thing I can give you now."

His bracelet, she thought. He was giving her his beloved bracelet. She knew about it's origins. It had some sentimental value to him, a birthday gift from Ludwig, and now he was giving it to her. Lilli smiled at the trinket. Better, it had his name- Gilbert -neatly engraved on the steel.

"Danke-"

She was cut off by the albino making his boldest yet most romantic move. A kiss on her cheek, barely a few inches from her lips.

For a moment, she could feel her senses leaving her.

Lilli was smiling, giving off the widest grin she had ever gave in her entire life. Her cheeks were flushed, she was embarrassed and shy, but still, happy.

Ivan watched her from a distance as the two entwined fingers and walked on.

He smiled, feeling the very large, gaping black hole, engulfing whatever there was left in his beaten, broken heart.

* * *

**Liebling- (Ger.) Love (the noun)**

**A few notes about Ivan's given background.**

**As I've written before, Ivan's parents died when he was three. He lived in a wheat farm in Ukraine.**

**But, actually, he was born in Russia. His mother gave birth at home and no one managed to issue a birth certificate for him. His mother died due to birth complications. As everyone was too occupied with the situation, no one even thought of registering a birth certificate for Ivan. Ivan's father, together with the newborn Ivan and Katyusha moved back to Ukraine (where Katyusha was born) to live with his father. The next few months were better for them, as Ivan's father managed the farm, having a little more income. He sort of re-married a Belarusian woman and after some time, Natalya was born. As the place they lived was closer to Belarus than Kiev (capital of Ukraine) (Belarus and Ukraine are landlocked), and that Nat's mother came from the place, they decided to go to Belarus with the following agenda- meet Nat's mother's family and register a birth certificate. Let's just say the family reunion wasn't very good. In the end, there was a car accident, and poor General (or Granfather) Winter was left to deal with everything. He did all the legal matters needed, even the birth certificate things.**

**Then there came one incident I'd like to keep a secret yet, which is the reason why Grandfather Winter celebrates Ivan's birthday on June 12.**

**BTW, December 30 and June 12 are possibilities for Russia's birthday. December 30 is the foundation of the Soviet Union (and the one stated on . net). June 12 is Russia day (and coincidentally, my mother country Philippines' independence day.) July 12 is Liech's birthday.**

**Another plus, in Russian Orthodox, Christmas is January 7. Which is why Lilli and Ivan have arguments about Christmas. (Unfortunately, this has happened between Natalya, Katyusha and their respective classmates.) Lilli gives Ivan Christmas gifts on December 25 and Ivan keeps them in his closet until he forgets it and opens it on January 7.**

**And why did I decide to write another Christmas chapter this early?**

**Christmas in the Philippines start at September and ends in January. We don't have snow, though.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 26: Ded Moroz**

**a/n: My human name for General Winter is Ivan Moroz, which means 'Snow'. Ded Moroz (or Grandfather Snow) is 'Santa Claus' in Russian. ^J^ He is in his early 60s. I don't really know how he acts, so sorry if he's a bit OOC. How he acts is just my interpretation of him.**

Ivan and Lilli sat side by side awkwardly. Natalya kept glaring at the said girl while Yekaterina seemed very concerned about the turn of events. The three Baltics hid in the corner, extremely terrified. If there was something scarier than Ivan, it was _**him**_.

The old man had a simple smile on his face. "_Dobroe utro, menya zovut_ Ivan Moroz. You can call me Dedushka or Ded Moroz, as not to confuse me with this mal'chik over here.." he turned to Ivan. Ivan smiled crookedly, quite nervous.

Lilli nodded. "O-ochen priy.." she stopped, struggling with the pronunciation. "_Ochen priyatno, dedushka. Menya zovut_ Lilli. Lilli Eva Vogel Zwingli."

Ivan wasn't very well adapting to the situation. He had to teach Lilli a bit of Russian since the old man's English wasn't the best. But who can blame him? He knew Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian. His German, Japanese and English had faded greatly.

Moroz gave a deep, gentle laugh. "Good name."

Ivan's grandfather was a man of few words and even fewer moods. He was a honest-to-Earth person, he smiled when he was pleased and scowled when he was not so pleased. 70% of the time, he was not-so-pleased. According to the Baltics, his face makes the winter colder than it should be. He also magically teleports, or is just plain silent and good at stealth. But Raivis will tell you otherwise. Like one day Raivis was drinking some of Ivan (Braginski)'s vodka and he appeared from nowhere, asking 'Is that vodka?' (what happened next wasn't very pleasant). Also, he terrorized the kids from time to time, especially Ivan. But he was a good enough grandpa. He wasn't affectionate, he never hugged, kissed or pat them, he hardly talked to them, he never said 'I love you' to either one of the three. But he took good care of the Braginski siblings very well (while terrorizing them at least once a year), even at his old age. He acted as both their parents. All felt equally loved under his watchful care. He taught them to be everything a good Russian citizen should be- responsible, well-mannered, religious, patriotic, and for Ivan, generous and chivalrous. Sure, sometimes the three little imps do fail to show the standard good behavior, but he never minded. Instead, he took time to gently lecture them. Ivan had never recalled his grandfather shouting at him, nor at any of his sisters. He was a model father. And he bore the responsibility single-handedly without any complain. (Maybe it was the reason he kept terrorizing them?) And that, for Ivan, made him the greatest grandfather ever.

"Malysh,"

Lilli perked up. "Ja?"

Moroz smiled. A rare sight."When are you two getting married?"

Ivan and everyone cringed. _Why is this happening to me..?_

* * *

After three hours, Lilli left. It was three hours full of conversations, mostly consisting of Ivan reminding the old man Lilli's name (he was quite forgetful) and convince him that they are not getting married. It seemed that the old man liked Lilli very much. After all, no one could actually get to dislike the sweet little girl. Everyone was astounded on how Lilli actually made him talk. With her, Moroz had the chance to relive old grandfather moments, telling her old Russian folktales, about his days in the military, the war and some not-so-true stories about how he escaped Siberia with nothing but a helmet and a faucet pipe. Even Ivan had never seen his grandfather that happy before. The joys of having a new granddaughter?

"You should visit some time. Dedushka really likes you."

Lilli nodded, turned around and somehow stopped him from advancing. "I don't know, but Herr Moroz doesn't seem aware that today's your birthday."

"He likes my June birthday better." said Ivan, "Happy new year, by the way."

The Liechtensteiner smiled sweetly. "Ja, happy new year, too. Close your eyes."

"I hope it's not socks again." huffed the Russian, closing his eyes. Lilli had always made him close his eyes when she hands him his birthday present. Mostly because it wasn't wrapped. Lilli saved her gift wraps exclusively for Ivan's Christmas gifts from a special request. Because he tends to open them a few weeks later.

"Hmm.." Lilli frowned, "I seem to have left it at home-"

"Chto, you did?!" he panicked, opening his eyes.

But when he did, he came face-to-face with a knitted pink scarf. The color was very light that it was easy to mistake it as white from a distance.

"You always fall for this every year." Lilli giggled. Ivan sort of blushed. For the past three years, she always jokes about leaving it at home and gets the same response every year. Like he never gets used to it.

"Spasibo, anyway." he smiled, unrolling it.

"You like it?"

The answer was pretty obvious since he immediately wrapped it around his neck, over his usual tan scarf. He had every reason to love it- it was soft, fluffy, nice color, carefully crafted by his bestfriend, and best of all, it wasn't socks. Maybe Lilli had noticed she had been giving him handmade socks too much.

"It is very nice.." Ivan smiled, violet eyes droopy. It was a nice scarf, only second to the one his sister made. Somehow, wearing it makes him feel very sleepy. Very sleepy. "I think I will wear this for sleeping.." It was as fluffy as the omelettes and pancakes Francis and what-was-his-name, Matvie made him try. He could swear that everything around him was spinning. There were clouds, marshmallows, nests, feathers, large puffy quilts, Raivis' hair.. He could even hear music boxes and slow, cello sounds. He was so sleepy he was delusional. So delusional he didn't notice Lilli panicking as he fell into the snow with a content smile on his face.

Then, it hit him that he had been too excited for his birthday that he stayed up all night to wait for the sunrise, thereby depriving himself of sleep.

* * *

"Vanya."

Ivan jumped up and winced. His back was stiff. Moroz was sitting next to him, with a not-so-pleasant face.

By the way, he woke up on a wooden park bench.

"..W-why am I in a park bench..?"

Moroz simply stared at him. "You fainted and the poor zhenshchina put you there."

"L-Lilli?" he gasped in disbelief. How did she even do that? He was basically 3 times her own weight.

Moroz nodded. "She ran back home and told me you fainted."

Ivan had a weird look on his face. "..Then, she must be home now?"

His grandfather silently nodded. Ivan silently responded and kept his posture straight, not minding the strain on his back. Silence wasn't unusual with his grandfather. But somehow, he wished he could talk to them like he would talk to Lilli.

"A nice girl."

The younger Russian sort of flinched. "Lilli?"

As expected, he nodded silently. Ivan adjusted himself on the seat. "Da. She's very nice."

"And you like her?"

"I don't know. She has a boyfriend." Ivan frowned. He knew that his grandfather indeed a reliable person. Aside from his height, the only thing that saved him from occasional bullies was his grandfather. But in this case, he might not be as reliable.

Moroz looked at the dark winter sky. "You can't force love, Vanya. You are scared to let her know because she is happy with the other mal'chik, da?"

"..Da.." his voice trailed off. Someone as old as him must be very wise. He flinched as he felt a very cold, albeit reassuring hand over his shoulder.

"You are young, malysh, and there are plenty of fish in the sea." said Moroz, "But if you really think she is the one for you, then let us see if fate will bring you together."

Ivan's grandfather was very straightforward. His advice wasn't something that made people better. Instead, it focused on the neutral truth. The best advice doesn't necessarily have to make people feel better, as he had said many years before.

"How old are you now, malysh?"

He looked up at the old man. "..15."

"Isn't today your birthday?"

"16 then. It's confusing because I have two birthdays." he grinned, scratching his head. Moroz simply nodded, a small smile creeping up his lips.

_Extra #1_

Lilli was a bit of uneasy when her bestfriend brought up the issue of carrying him to the bench.

"As compensation, I will carry you on my back until it gets sore."

She was 3 times smaller than him, the snow was ankle-deep, how bad can it be?

Lilli grinned as she braced herself for a ride. It was a wonderful one, reliving the moments when she was so small and Vash carried her on his back. And one time, Vash fell on his face with Lilli on his back.

That was the bad part.

She shuddered. Ivan wasn't very wobbly. He was as strong and steady as a horse. He turned back and flashed a teasing face at her. Without any more warning, he ran. Lilli held on for dear life. It reminded her too well of their wagon rides. But still, she liked it. She held out her hands, feeling the cold wind and snow. Ivan's every move bursted with youthful and untamed energy while she was the eye of the storm- calm, at peace, a picture of angelic grace..

Until he slipped off the sidewalk.

And fell on his face.

**The last lines were based on Owl City's Christmas song Peppermint Winter. **_**(I tore through the driveway with angelic grace 'till I slipped on the sidewalk and fall on my face..)**_

**I love that song.**

**Translations;**

**Dobroe utro- (Rus.) Good day, something like good morning/afternoon**

**Menya zovut..- (Rus.) My name is..**

**Ochen priyatno- (Rus.) Nice to meet you**

**Mal'chik- (Rus.) boy**

**A few notes about General (Grandfather) Winter**

**General Winter is Ivan's paternal grandfather, also named Ivan. (Ivan's father named him after General Winter). He served in the military but retired early since he needed to take care of the farm and his grandchildren after his son died. He served in the Soviet Union days, which is why he knows Baltic languages.**

**About the falling asleep while walking thing? A few months ago, I stayed awake to greet someone on the exact hour of his birthday..well..I fell asleep in a bad place. And sleeping with fluffy scarfs are just so awesome, especially when it's cold. You must try it some time.**

**By the way, if anyone doesn't know about the expression 'plenty of fish in the sea', it means there are lots of boys/girls in the world. Truthfully, Ivan didn't get it.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 27: Distancing**

**a/n: Fast forward to a year later. Time, November. Lilli and Ivan are in their second year of middle school. Ivan, 16, Lilli 14.**

**Thank you for everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited. Seriously, thanks for all the support.**

"Do you hate him?"

Ivan looked away from the crack on the floor he had been staring at so. How long was it, a half-hour? He didn't care. He looked up and saw his precious little sister interrupt him from his more precious thinking time. Natalya cautiously looked at all the things in the living room. For doing something she did not approve of, big sestra Yekaterina had sentenced Ivan to a half hour minutes 'time-out'. It simply consisted of sitting on the tiny and utterly uncomfortable kiddy chair not meant for people like Ivan. It was Yekaterina's type of punishment. Too nice. Natalya rolled her eyes in exasperation. He easily could've escaped it, but chose to be bound to the rules. Russians were known for being bound to rules. Ivan shut his eyes at the thought. He turned back to look at the seemingly interesting crack.. "Who..?"

Natalya scoffed, but in truth, was mentally selecting her words. Ivan was not in the best of moods today.

"That white-haired ublyudok-"

"Why?"

She wasn't in the right manner to question him. "It's obvious, anyway, brat. You never hurt anyone unless you hate-"

Ivan's eyes narrowed dangerously. It was some time ago that he had broken Gilbert Beillschmidt's fingers in public. Not the comical type. It was real. Repelling and tormenting him behind Lilli's back was one thing, but making Lilli cry was crossing the line.

"Nyet, I mean why." Ivan demanded in a cold voice. His violet eyes were both lifeless and intimidating. Like somehow, he was dead. "Why are you asking me this now, Natalya Arlovskaya."

The girl gritted her teeth. "Because I hate both of them."

"I know." Ivan smirked, looking back at the tiny indent on the wall. He smiled at his handiwork. It was one of the numerous cracks in the wall he had caused. No one knew about it. Someone would ask him about it and he would smile and saw, 'Oh, just rats.. They mark their territory..' and such. Honestly, he doesn't really know how he made this cracks. All he knew was that they were there the time he woke up with blood on his forehead. No. That was from years ago. Many years ago. It was different. Maybe he punched it or hit it with his faucet pipe? Likely.

"But, I can't do anything about it.." he purred childishly. His fingers slid up the wall, passing the cracks, tenderly touching another indent. He remembered what caused that indent. Lilli did. They were both young and played some hockey in his house. They both etched their names on the wall, marking it as their goal post. It had her initials on it. L.V.Z.

Natalya crossed her arms. It had always been hard for her to understand her brother's true nature. Sometimes, it felt like she would be talking to two different people at different times. But one thing was for sure. He wasn't the safest person to talk to.

"I can."

"Natalya, I do not like the way you are implying that." said Ivan without even looking at her. "If she is happy, I am too-"

"Lies!" she screamed. Ivan stood up abruptly, smothering her with his massive shadow. Cold violet eyes directed at her. But she stood firm. "Look at you! You are no longer the brata I so admired.. You've changed when you became friends with that..that zhenshchina. You also have been changed ever since that-that ublyudok came in and took her away from you. I was glad he came. Maybe that would change you again. But it did. It changed you for the worst-"

She was cut off when a massive fist made the room shake. It was so brash, so forceful..so full of repressed anger her brother had been holding back. His fist was embedded on the wall, leaving a fist-sized, red tinted indent as he removed it. Bits of the paint cracked. But Natalya was unshaken.

"I can help you get rid of him." said Natalya straightforwardly. She didn't pay attention on how Ivan glared at her. "Let me help you, brat. I will get rid of him in the cleanest way possible. I swear no one will suspect a thing. You will get that zhenshchina and your happiness without anyone standing in your way. You will not even lift a finger. All you have to do is lead her to this place-"

"Nyet. I refuse."

"Think of it." said Natalya, mustering enough courage to grab Ivan's arm. "Your days of crying are over-"

"I do not cry."

"You think I do not hear you?"

Violet eyes narrowed.

Someone had actually saw him at his weakest.

That was humiliating.

Lilli.

Why did that girl always have to make him feel weak?

What was it that made her different from everyone else?

No one had ever made him weak.

And no one had the right to make him feel that way.

He was supposed to be strong.

Strong enough to withstand everyone and not be crushed by another, no matter how large he was compared to himself.

"I am not one to rely on your help, Natalya. I prefer things the way it is. Hurt is a very effective teacher and you know it yourself, da? I'd rather stay with it and learn than take it easy and learn nothing at all."

With that, he left.

Natalya simply clenched her fists and threatened her body not to go after him.

Ivan wasn't the best person to deal with when angry.

* * *

The 16-year-old scowled, tugging on a rope. It burned around his ankles as he tugged on it. He smiled. It was strong enough. The other end was firmly tied to his bed.

'Not this again.'

'Quiet, you useless duratskiy. Or else.'

'Nyet, not this again, pozhalusta-'

'Zat'knis!'

Cold sweat and adrenaline gushed as Ivan smiled darkly. He gingerly held a silver lighter in his hands.

No one was home.

No one was home.

He was free to do anything he want.

The door was locked.

He can be as loud as he wanted to.

Ivan laughed.

* * *

"Hoi, what are you waiting for? Let's go."

Lilli looked at the much taller albino. He bit his lip, enamored once again by her deep green eyes. But her eyes were clouded with worry.

"Don't worry about my hand. It's still awesome, ja?"

Lilli smiled weakly. She didn't know about what really happened. All she knew was that Gil and her had a fight and one day, he returned, smiling, with a broken hand. He told her it was from a freak accident. As much as she wanted to worry, there was something occupying her mind.

She looked away worriedly. "I don't know..it's just..Ivan should be here by now."

"He's just late, so let's go. Or else big bruder would not be pleased." Gil smirked, imitating her formal way of speaking. She frowned, but put a smile on afterwards. Gil always managed to make her smile. It wasn't really the first time Ivan was late, too.

But it wasn't the last time, either.

Three days passed and Lilli felt some sort of heaviness in her heart. This happened back then when they were kids. Maybe somehow, he lost his scarf again?

Vash had told him that Ivan didn't show up for work. He wasn't needed much, anyway. She never got to see the Baltics nor Ivan's sisters. Roderich and Eliza told her that Yekaterina was normal as ever.

A whole week passed before she mustered up the courage to go to his place.

It was a nice feeling. The feeling of familiarity. The house seemed brighter than when he lived alone. The walls' paint had faded, the door seemed sort of beat up and the paint was cracking. But still, it felt brighter.

Raivis answered the door, but squeaked when he saw her. He seemed shivering. "..M-miss Zwingli.. M-may I help you..?"

"Um..Is Ivan home? I'd like to speak to him."

An expression of fear shot across his face. He excused himself for a while and shut the door. Lilli could hear faint noises sounding like the door, mumbling, Raivis' frightened squeaks and a conversation she can barely make out.

A very loud noise startled her out of her wits. She could hear footsteps approaching the door, and saw Ivan's little sister.

"N-Natalya-"

"Brat is not here." she hissed, "I do not know where he went to, but he is not feeling well."

Lilli nodded, intimidated. "I-in that case, c-can you please tell him I-"

"Nyet." she stepped forward and pushed a finger to her shoulder, causing her to take one step back, "Go away and don't you ever show yourself again."

Lilli blankly stared at her. "B-but-"

"Go away!" she screamed, slamming the door shut behind the clearly dumbfounded young girl. Lilli was speechless. She knew that Ivan's little sister was quite attached to him, but it was the first time Natalya had treated her this way.

Seeing that staying there would not do anything good, she turned tail and left. She could've at least let her give Ivan the Kasefondue she made.

On the way home, she kept thinking about him. Ivan. Did something happen to him? Maybe he got sick and didn't want her to catch it. That sounded like him. But she couldn't remember Ivan getting sick for the past three years. It would make her feel better if she could see him one last time.

"Lilli!"

She turned around. Only to see a familiar figure thundering down the road with a large set of knockers.

"Schwester.."

"Lilli!" Yekaterina grinned, panting. From the looks of it, she went grocery shopping."I haven't seen you around! Ever since you had that boyfriend of yours.."

"Stop it, schwester.." she blushed. Yekaterina put down her groceries and held Lilli's blushing face.

"Oh..ever since you've had a boyfriend, you've been so distant." frowned Yekaterina teasingly, "You don't even visit."

Lilli's eyes fluttered. "..Actually, I just visited."

"Huh? You did?" she smiled, "So, how did things go with Ivan?"

"He wasn't home." said Lilli, "Natalya told me."

The elder woman raised her eyebrows. "..I-I'm sure he was home.. He never does go out. He has this bad ankle burn which prevents him from moving around too much, which is why all he does on weekends is sleep and read the novels he's been reading since he was 10."

Now, it was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "..Ankle burn..? What do you mean?"

"I don't know either.. A week ago, he was fine and then, he was limping. He had this burn scars around his ankles and he doesn't want to talk about it. So, can.."

Lilli frowned as Yekaterina was slowly cut off her words. It took a while before she could respond.

"D-da, you're right, Lilli.. I wanted you to talk to him, but I remembered he wasn't home. Prastite. I'll tell you when he gets better."

Yekaterina patted the young girl's cheek in an attempt to cheer her up. Somehow begrudgingly, Lilli gave the plastic bag containing her gift.

"It's Kasefondue, schwester. Ivan likes it very much." said the girl rather glumly.

The platinum blond nodded understandingly. "Da, I will. This will make him feel better."

Lilli forced a little smile and the two separated ways.

* * *

Yekaterina sighed, put down her groceries and asked the young boys to fix it for her. She knocked on a familiar, beaten up door and when she received a response, entered, holding a plastic bag.

"Vanya.."

Ivan was on the bed, putting down his favorite novel. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov.

"Welcome back, sestra."

She placed the plastic bag where he could see it. "I met her while walking home."

"I know."

Yekaterina frowned. He would always be happy when she brings up Lilli. "Does it still hurt?"

"I'm okay with it."

His elder sister nodded and was halfway out the room. She stopped.

"You can't keep hiding from her."

* * *

**Duratskiy- (Rus.) Idiot**

**Zat'knis- (Rus.) Shut up, or at least what my bestfriend told me. By the way, his name is Google Translate.**

**a/n: 'Kay, I forgot about this.**

**Picture Ivan's scarf. It was knitted. Means it's the kind of scarf made of yarn that has some holes. (Search 'knitted scarf' on Google Images)**

**And then again, if you don't understand something in this fic, feel free to send me a message.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 28: A Friend's Amore, Part 1**

**a/n: Tarsals and metatarsals are the bones in your feet.**

**Before reading this fic, watch this.**

** : / /**

**w w w . e **

** ? v =XHtdGJfVd2w ('Dean Martin- This is Amore')**

** : / /**

**w w w.**

** e **

**watch?v=2fDkxQBjgFU (Georges Bizet- Votre Toast) (This might bore you a bit.)**

**I mean BEFORE reading this. You must, for a good time. I beg you, this is a personal request.**

**I may mess with your feels in this chapter.**

**Now, back to the story!**

* * *

"Braginski, your girl's here." said Alfred Jones, stretching his arms lazily.

"Zwingli's little sestra, da?"

"Yeah, I mean, who else is crazy enough to visit you? Aside from your c-er..eccentric...sister." the last time Alfred had mistakenly called Natalya 'crazy' led to his tarsals being crushed. He didn't really take kindly to any insults thrown at his family. No matter how true.

Alfred noticed the dark expression on the Russian's face. If he remembered right, Ivan was smitten and promptly 'bestfriendzoned' by the love of his life. Maybe he just realized he had been sitting in the friendzone too much?

"Please do go out and tell her that I left."

The American furrowed his eyebrows. He was right? "Is it because of your limp?"

Ivan nodded his head. "Spasibo."

Alfred let out a 'pshaw' and went forward to carry out orders. Like a hero!

The Russian's gloominess contrasted Alfred's cheer. If it were a different time, he would be bouncing off and hug Lilli no matter the situation was. True, his burn marks hurt, but it wasn't that severe to keep him from staying away from her.

The only problem is that he wanted to distance himself away from her.

He had even been walking home with Natalya and the Baltics. He was okay with everything.

It was the right choice, lest Natalya makes a move without his consent.

All is well.

Everything's alright.

He was about to pack his bag when light, hurried tapping of little feet was heard across the hallway.

He was the only one who could hear it. That familiar pitter-patter of tiny feet.

He heard heavy breathing and pants.

"..I-Ivan.."

The classroom wasn't halfway near empty. Her appearance caused a bit of shock and turmoil amongst them. He wished for the impossible- for her to not recognize him amidst the faces staring at her.

But it hit him that he was still wearing her scarf.

The scarf she so lovingly knitted.

And for that, she could recognize him, even if he was to be put in a crowd of a million fake Ivans.

But before she could tug his sleeve, before she could come running to him, even before she could register that the person wearing the scarf was indeed him, he ran away. His bag brushed her shoulder as he escaped from the room.

It hurt.

Because he wasn't supposed to run.

The burnt ring around his ankle stung. It hurt like someone was setting fire to it again. Bits of charred skin tore every time he took a forceful step. He could even feel something seeping out of it. He bit his lip in his attempt not to squeak or even wince. In his attempt, he didn't notice his lip bleeding.

And one more thing he failed to notice were the tears forming on their cheeks- both Lilli and his.

* * *

He tried not to breathe as someone came knocking on the door.

"Ivan, it's me. Open the door, please."

His burn scars hurt like hell. Why was she here? Maybe she found out that he broke Gilbert's fingers? But she didn't sound angry. She sounded somewhat pitiful and near tears.

_Lilli.._

The door pounded once more.

"Ivan, come out. It's not healthy for you to stay in there."

It wasn't healthy for him to come out either. He didn't want to see her. Seeing those green eyes made his stomach churn, especially when he sees her with Gilbert. He gets this weird feeling in gut. He hid his face in his scarf, trying to drown out the stench.

"Ivan, please come out before someone notices that you're in the ladies' restroom. We'll be in so much trouble if that happens."

He was sitting atop the covered toilet, cowering. Wait, why was he cowering? He cleared his throat. "E-Excuse me.." he pitch-shifted his voice into a womanly tone. Oh dear Gott, he sounded like a suffocated fish. "..This cubicle is occupied."

"Ivan!" The door rattled. He crouched and hugged his knees close to him. Lilli was angry? It was like these horror movies when the killer knows where you are and has a knife on hand.. Ivan's mind raced and searched his memory. What does the protagonist do to repel him? What? Whaat?! Most of the time, they just get killed! Will this be the end of Ivan Braginski? Nyet! His mind was too engrossed in all those suspense and horror film references that the scenario was becoming more and more realistic. The sound was menacing, he was in a small space which made him feel claustrophobic, and looking at the trash bin..is that blood? He stifled his scream with his scarf. He completely forgot that the object of his terror was a little girl three times as small as him.

Suddenly, a good idea hit him.

This was the only way.

The last resort.

Everyone cowered in fear automatically it when he did it. It was that fearsome. Ivan Braginski-no- Ivan the Terrible's most fearsome technique. Even his sister Natalya would not talk to him for days whenever he did it. Katyusha begged him in tears not to do it ever. But, it was his only choice. As much as he didn't want to disobey his sister, he wanted to live. Maybe the killer will go away? Hopefully. Da, this might be the solution, he thought. And he will never see the killer again.

But was he ready to do it? He had vowed never to do this until the day he died.

He clenched his fists. Time to break a promise. After this, he swore to never do this again.

Ivan shifted on the covered toilet seat, stood up with confidence, conviction that he will win against him. He didn't mind if the killer would slash his feet from underneath the gap of the cubicle. All he knew was that he would emerge victorious.

'You can do this, Braginski. And if you kill the murderer, this will be his fault.' (1)

Violet eyes sparked open in dangerous light.

They didn't call him Ivan the Terrible for nothing.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, covered his ears and;

"WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE LIKE A BIG PIZZA PIE, THAT'S AMOREEEEEEEEE"

The whole building shook. People from every level turned to each other in confusion. What the hell was that? Due to the very close distance between them, Lilli felt like she was hit by a ten wheeler. What creature foul enough was able to manifest that kind of noise?

Oh, right. Ivan.

"Ivan-"

"WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS TO SHINE"

"Ivan-"

"-HAD TOO MUCH WINE, THAT'S AMOREEEEEE~"

"-please stop-"

"BELLS WILL RING, TING-A-LING-A-LING-"

"-Gott, Ivan, bitte-"

"-VIIIIIIIIIIITA BELLAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"-Stop, stop, we'll get caught and-"

"-LIKE A GAY TARANTELLAAAAAAAAHH"

"IVAN BRAGINSKI!"

"AMOREEEEEEEEE-"

Lilli and Ivan stopped when someone burst in the door. He was tired, sweating all over, breathing heavily, and unaware that he had invaded the ladies' bathroom.

"Braginski..You bastardo.." Lovino Vargas panted.

"Da? Who is there? Vargas, is that you?"

It took a while before he stopped panting.

"Bastardo.." he wiped his forehead, "You sound-a like you have not learned nothing from-a me and Papi!"

Lilli raised her eyebrows. Wait, does that mean-

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

The windowpanes exploded out of their frames.

* * *

"Mein ears.."

Vash Zwingli frowned at his younger sister. She had told him that she was going to the next middle school and talk to Ivan. Then, he returned home only to find his sister in a catatonic state with bleeding ears. She reluctantly confessed that it was because of Ivan's singing. Vash nodded in agreement. It was a bit comical, if, you put aside the fact that Lilli was silently crying.

Vash would not have any of this.

_Extra #1_

_Flashback, three years ago_

Everyone watched in awe as Romeo sang in an almost perfect Italiano tenor. He was singing Georges Bizet's 'Votre Toast', the toreador song from the Spanish 'Carmen' musical. Beside him, little Antonio Fernandez Carriedo was supporting him with his own beautiful Spanish voice. Not tenor, but it did the trick. Antonio was Romeo's godson, and Antonio used to tutor one of Rome's grandson.

Pairs of eyes widened as Rome hit a very high note and sang the famed chorus.

Toreador, en garde

Toreador, toreador

Et songe bien, oui en combattant

Qu'un oeil noir te regarde,

Et que l'amour t'attend,

Toreador, L'amour t'attend!

He raised his hand, gesturing every student to sing along. They all looked at their textbooks (which contained the lyrics) and sang. Children's voices filled the room and resonated, all harmonizing with each other.

Except for one.

One by one, the students stopped singing as Ivan was left, belting out the lyrics in a very high pitch than needed. Even Rome and Antonio stopped.

Ivan had the fire and passion of a young Enrico Caruso.

But had the voice of a horse with tonsilitis.

From then on, he was known as Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible Singer.

* * *

**I promise the next chapter will be better! T_T**

**If you allow me to do some explanation, Ivan isn't really in love (possibly yet) with Lilli. He just plain detests the fact that Lilli was taken away from him by someone who wasn't very nice. Also, Gil had bullied Ivan a bit in elementary school. This is based on the historical fact that the Teutonic Knights tried to invade Russia. It's featured in the strip 'Russia and Friends'.**

**Thanks for all the supporters. You may not know it, but I love you all.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 28: A Friend's Amore, Part 2**

**Disclaimer (hey, I actually missed writing this.): I don't own Hetalia.**

Ivan held himself back. He could've easily crushed Vash Zwingli if he wanted to. But it was a personal choice not to. So he let himself get pinned to the wall and get punched by someone smaller than him. This is brat Zwingli. I can't hurt him.

"What did you do to her?" he asked gruffly, "What did you do to Lilli?!" Ivan didn't respond, or even look at him.

Vash growled and the Russian winced as he absorbed another one of his punches. As small Vash's fist was compared to his, it still hurt. It was like there was adamantine stitched under his knuckles. Ivan regained his composure and spit out blood and whatever it was.

"Talk, Braginski!"

He simply gave him a small glance. "Prastite, comrade, I have my own way of dealing with things."

"I wouldn't care less if you broke Beillschmidt's fingers, but my sister was crying because of you, mistvieh. I was sure it wasn't because of the incident with Beillschmidt, so you better speak up!"

Vash noted the trace of guilt on the Russian's face. "Nyet-"

"Mein schwester doesn't need a mistvieh like you that makes her cry! I wouldn't care less if she calls you her closest friend, you're still nothing to me, hurensohn."

The Swiss was getting more and more angry by seconds. He didn't quite know why, but whoever dares to make his sister cry will face hell. Ivan finally looked at him. "I made her cry..?"

"You did." Lilli's elder brother hatefully glared. Ivan nodded.

"I tried my best.." his voice trailed off, "..to distance myself from her." He was forced to elaborate as the Swiss furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "..I thought she was angry about me breaking Beillschmidt senior's fingers."

Vash's face remained stoic.

"He made her cry!" he reasoned aloud, "I will never let him make her cry, ever! You would do the same, da?!"

The Swiss nodded. "Beillschmidt told her that he got it from a freak accident, so, she doesn't really know about it."

Ivan stopped a while and sighed in relief. If she ever knew about this, she would probably hate him forever. _If that Beillschmidt dares tell her, I will do more than break his fingers._

"What are you going to do about it?" asked Vash in a disapproving face. Ivan raised his eyebrows and his face fell.

"I'll do it my own way."

Lilli's big brother seemed satisfied with his answer. Finally, he removed his grip on Ivan's collar. All in all, the 16-year-old sustained bruises on the right side of his face. The coppery taste of blood lingered in his mouth. He didn't bother to say goodbye as Vash left.

Ivan heaved a sigh. What did he exactly mean by 'I'll do it my own way'? He could hardly remember how he came up with that poorly thought answer.

Maybe it was time to think of another plan other than distancing?

* * *

'Hmm..when I was 12, I wasn't that small..'

'Of course you weren't. It's not my fault I'm small..'

'Which is why I gave you a big bottle of milk for your birthday!'

Lilli's eyes fluttered open. She was clutching a photograph. She could still remember the memories it carried along with. The warm, summer air, the bluebirds singing, the taste of cake and gift wrappers. It was her celebratory picture for her 12th birthday. She was with Ivan at that time, smiling very brightly. Ivan was maybe 15 then? She didn't really remember. All she knew that both of them were happy. He rested his head on hers, which was a bit difficult on his part, considering their height differences. Anyway, no one knew how the two managed to be best of friends, but she would always narrate their story about getting locked in the library together.

Her eyelids slowly shut. A few tears escaped. For some reason, he had been avoiding her lately. What happened? Lilli sniffled. If it would keep her bestfriend with her, she wished they would magically revert into primary school students again.

Tap.

Emerald eyes darted open. She could swear she heard something from the window.. Lilli sighed. Probably her imagination-

She didn't have time to gasp as a fist-sized rock slammed and promptly shattered the window pane with a loud crash. It rolled around the carpet and stopped near her door. What?

The girl searched for her slippers, afraid of the glass shards. Also, she took the CZ100 her brother entrusted her to use in case of emergencies. Slowly, she made her way towards the now broken window and peered out.

Ivan was below, having a clumsy shocked expression on his face. His large gloved hands covered his mouth, stifling his gasp.

"Prastite.." he mouthed out. Lilli was about to come down when Ivan gestured him not to. Instead, he removed his large shoes and clumsily climbed up the trellis.

Which was obviously not made for climbing.

The gaps squeaked every time he took a step. He tried to avoid stepping on the delicate tendrils around the trellis. Ivan could feel the whole frame of wood wobbling and about to give in to his weight. He scowled at the thought. He wasn't _that_ huge, wasn't he? Meanwhile, Lilli was pondering. Why hasn't Vash awakened yet? Well, not that she wanted him to wake up at come across this awkward scene, but, surely, the sound of the window breaking should've waked him up. Oh..maybe he's having a very good dream by now.

Lilli was torn out of her musings when she heard a loud and clean snap outside the window. With it was large, rushing footsteps and finally, Ivan emerged, having a hard time heaving himself up the roof. Lilli clambered out and carefully slid down next to him. It was the first time she did something like this.

"I think.." he breathed, "..I need to..lose..weight."

She stifled a chuckle"Why? You aren't fat. Just..large boned." She then pointed at her bestfriend's robust and sturdy frame, custom made for the weather in Russia. He simply gave of a small smile as Lilli attempted to pull him up. With a little assistance, he managed to gain good footing and both crashed to the ground..er..the roof in exhaustion.

"..Well..I think you should..lose a little."

The Russian gave off a large, deep laugh. Lilli similarly gave a small chuckle.

"Prastite. I didn't mean to break the window." he said, sitting up. The night was beautiful. Silvery stars and city lights all around.

"Why did you come here?" asked Lilli. Ivan looked at her. Her voice had a sad tone, something like she didn't want him to come. He shrugged his shoulders.

"To apologize, comrade."

Lilli furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know if it was because of the dark, but her eyes managed to adjust and saw bruises on his face.

"Um..what..what happened to your face?"

"Huh?" His eyes widened a bit when he registered the question. A little lying won't hurt. "Uh..iz from a freak accident."

Then again, she was confused. It was the exact response Gilbert gave her. "..Okay.."

He shrugged with a pitiful face. "Prastite, Lilli."

She didn't need to ask 'For what?'. Instead, she smiled. "It's alright."

Ivan grinned and was about to respond, when Lilli added, "But, you should be there to walk me to Peeters' everyday, gute?"

He nodded happily and put on a Germanic accent. "Gute."

The Liechtensteiner giggled. "You should be going home now."

"Da, you're right." he smiled, stepping on the trellis.

"Guten nach-"

The trellis cracked and the ugly sound of something crashing down was heard along with someone bellowing in Russian.

**I don't know, but this chapter really reminds me of Wreck-It Ralph.**

**Mistvieh- (Ger.) bastard**

**Gute- (Ger.) Good**


	30. Chapter 30

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 30: Freezing Point**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia. Me no likey big responsibility.**

Natalya was happy for a few days. Ivan had distanced himself from Lilli and had been spending time with them more. He didn't really look well, he never talked, but it was okay for her. It was okay. He was finally with them.

Then he went home with bruises on his face, took a walk in the middle of the night and returned as a different person- the side of Ivan Natalya detested. Soon, he was acting all chummy with Lilli and started ignoring them in favor of the girl. Katyusha said that it was alright, and that it was nice that Ivan had finally gained a good friend but for the overly-attached little sister, it was not alright.

She detested it. She hated her.

Gilbert was happy for a few days. His fingers were broken and he wasn't able to do much, but at least Ivan Braginski hasn't been showing up and sandwiching himself in between him and his lover. He had a bit more freedom when the Russian wasn't around.

Then, like a mushroom, he popped out of nowhere and like before, walked with them to Peeters' everyday. Ivan never expressed guilt in breaking his hand. He didn't even respond when Gilbert threatened to tell Lilli about the incident. 'You don't need to tell her twice, Beillschmidt senior. She already knows.' He didn't know it was just a lie to keep him from telling. Gil hated the fact that Ivan seems to be closer to Lilli than him.

He detested it. He hated him.

And these jealous feelings resonated with one another and led to an undesirable alliance.

...

The alliance wasn't such a good idea on both sides. Both wanted to harm the other's beloved. But the more they conversed, the more they knew of the other's inner pain, jealousy, hatred and the urge to exterminate the other. Gilbert wanted Ivan gone. Natalya wanted Lilli gone. She could propose an idea where she could keep Ivan from visiting Lilli, but Gil wouldn't concede. It was Ivan Braginski. No one could ever keep Ivan Braginski from doing whatever he wanted. And Gil would try to keep Lilli away from him, but either one of them, Ivan or Lilli, would solve the problem. It was like they were the ones in a relationship. Their bond can't be broken, no matter how they hated it. Suddenly, Natalya had a spark of inspiration. She was sure Ivan would accept it, _after it happened_. She could get rid of Gilbert Beillschmidt herself. Of course, she wasn't going to let him know-

"What are you planning, Natalya?" asked Gilbert sternly. She flinched in shock but flashed the usual icy look that said 'I'm not planning anything'. Gilbert simply scowled. "From the looks of your face, you're planning something."

Was she that obvious? She put on a similar stern expression that would put Gilbert's to shame. "I'm not planning anything, Beillschmidt."

"You're that Braginski's sister, of course I don't trust you."

_You definitely shouldn't. You'd be nothing but stupid if you did._

...

Natalya was in the snake's pit. The enemy hideout. However, most her enemies were cowering behind whatever there was in that God-forsaken abyss. An abandoned factory, how classic. She wondered why hasn't the police raided it. The hideout of the W-City Mafia, she meant. The young Belarusian beauty glared over the men trying to keep their calm. Everyone knew how much of a street fighter she was.

"Que? What are you doing here?"

"I'll get this straight, Romano." Natalya hissed, calling Lovino Vargas by his alias. The said man fought her glare. As long as it wasn't Ivan Braginski himself, he had nothing to fear. "I want you to get rid of someone."

"The nerve of you, bella. You know the Mafia doesn't harm women."

Icy dark eyes bore holes on the Italian's head. "In exchange for some money, get rid of Gilbert Beillschmidt."

"Gilberto Beillschmidt?" Lovino did a double-take. It was true he had a very big grudge against the two Beillschmidts, which is why Natalya hired him for the job, but Lovino himself didn't know if he could bring himself to harm anyone without reason. The Beillschmidts were didn't have anything against him, the only reason he disliked them was natural. He disliked anyone he didn't know. Also, the younger Beillschmidt was his younger brother's bestfriend. They were nice as far as history was concerned. Okay, both the Beillschmidts were nice, but he just couldn't kill, or get rid of someone just because he disliked them. He still had principles, as much as he wanted to deny them.

"I'm afraid-a I can't accept your offer, signorina." said Lovino hesitantly, "I don't have-"

"Then get rid of Vash Zwingli's little sestra instead."

Green eyes shot up. "Que? For the last time, Natalya, you know well that the Mafia does not harm signorinas-"

A knife bounced off the concrete wall. Before he knew it, Lovino had a small red line on his left cheek.

A man hiding from the shadows emerged in shock. "Romano-"

Lovino held up a hand, saying that he was okay.

"Natalya, per favore, this is-a not right and you know it." Lovino cried.

"I thought pitiful slobs like you aren't allowed in the Mafia."

"Permit me to say this, signorina, but you are-a the one whose pitiful. You are paying someone to-a get rid of innocent people!"

"How about this," she gritted her teeth, digging through her dress pocket, "You get rid of Gilbert Beillschmidt," Lovino paid close attention as she produced a small plastic bag and opened it, "In exchange for money and your brat's safety."

"Brat? What do you mean-" Lovino was silenced when she threw the white plastic bag in front of him, spilling locks of rich brown hair across the dull concrete. It took quite a while for him to register everything. "Mi fratello.. Feliciano.. What have you done to mi fratello?!"

Natalya raised her eyebrows, unshaken. Lovino knew there was no going against Ivan Braginski's sister, and he found himself on a dead end. With a sigh, he finally breathed.

"I am going to ask my men to run him over with a truck." Lovino breathed, disgusted with himself. "In exchange, you give me the money. You are to never go near mi fratello again, you shall-a not speak anyone of this and I shall never see you again. Bene?"

She nodded. "I trust that you are going to guarantee my protection also, Romano?"

Lovino nodded. "Si. You may go, signorina."

Natalya left silently. After she had disappeared into the horizon, the men finally emerged from their hiding places.

"Romano.. Are you really going to do this?"

Lovino Vargas hesitantly nodded. "I have no choice but to keep my word. That bella is pazzo. I am only doing this for the sake of mi Papi. He will be heartbroken if I let something happen to mi istupido fratello Feliciano."

He turned to everyone. "We are going to get rid of Gilberto Beillschmidt."

_Extra #1_

"F-Feliciano..!" Romeo Vargas exclaimed, shocked at his grandson's appearance, "Dio mio, Feliciano! Che cosa è successo ai tuoi capelli?"

"Ah, this~?" asked the smaller Italian, "A very nice bella at school offered to give me a free haircut. Ti sembro buono?"

**Que- (It.) What**

**Bella- (It.) beauty**

**Signorina- (It.) miss**

**Mi fratello- (It.) My brother**

**Bene- (It.) Good**

**Si- (It.) Yes**

**Papi- (It.) Grandpa**

**Istupido- (It.) Stupid**

**Dio mio- (It.) My God!**

**Che cosa e successo ai tuoi capelli- (It.) What happened to your hair?!**

**Ti sembro buono- (It.) Do I look good?**

**Lovino isn't really such a bad guy when it came to women. Also, from a headcanon by liondancer17, Romano is said to try his best on keeping the Mafia away from North Italy.**

**Then again, I am sorry for messing again with your feels. It was just to assure you that Feliciano is alright. Some chapters more before I give you very depressing news.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 31: Turning Point**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia. If I did, you'll all hate me. Seriously.**

**a/n: I suggest you listen to Best I Ever Had by Vertical Horizon. I dug through my aunt's USB and saw a heap of good ol' metal and rock songs from 1980-2013. Lots of Vertical Horizon songs like 'I'm Still Here', 'Forever' and 'Everything You Want' really fit the theme of this fic.**

It was one of the most beautiful parts of the year. Christmas decor was beginning to appear in some shops. It was the 29th of November, just a little more and they'll be going to eat out, exchange gifts, throw snow-covered rocks at each other and laugh when the other gets a black eye and bloody nose. The cold would numb out the pain, and so will the light feeling of just being with the other. The feeling of never growing old with your bestfriend. Youth, energy, life...love.

The lights burned blue around the dark November afternoon. The sky was darkening. Gilbert took Ivan's shift in Peeters' which gave him some time to spend with Lilli. This was one of those days he was grateful for skipping jobs. The management thought Ivan wasn't going to show up and asked Gilbert instead to cover up for him, disregarding that Gil was wearing good clothes and was planning to have a date with his girlfriend. The cocky and weirdly well-dressed albino wanted to impress Lilli, and so, took the job. While doing heavy work, he bragged about his cleaning skills, which led to Govert giving him an extra job of cleaning the windows. They couldn't trust Ivan with the job- they once asked him to clean twenty dishes in the kitchen alone, only for them to come back with more (and relatively smaller) plates than they ever left him with. If phrasing in a more understandable way, he broke all of them. What can you say? His large hands weren't made to do delicate work. Anyway, Gil was busy and so, he ruined his clothes in the process. Ivan stole a bored Lilli away while he had the chance.

_While he had the chance._

It was sad listening to those words. But who could blame him? He could hardly spend time with his own bestfriend, all thanks to her crazy boyfriend. Even Vash didn't keep him away from her like that. Grabbing his collar like he was some small wimp he could push around..the mere thought of Gilbert's previous actions made him sick.

"Van'ka?"

Ivan looked at her. Beautiful emeralds. He blushed. "I told you..y-you shouldn't call me that, da?"

Lilli smiled, which made Ivan Braginski's consciousness turn to jelly. "You told me not to call you that around people, ja?" She looked around the crowds of passerby and bystanders. "No one knows us here. No one even pays attention to us."

Ivan gazed at all the busy people. They mingled in very good, aside from the fact that he was somewhat very tall for his age. Also, they would be fairly recognizable if Ivan's albino bestfriend was with them. Most probably because of Beillschmidt's public display of affection. He never hesitated to rub the fact that he was Lilli's boyfriend in his face. Also, the stainless steel cuff she wore everyday was a reminder to him- Gilbert's bracelet that was too loose for her small wrists. It had his name etched on it. Seeing it made him hear that detested obnoxious voice in his head, screaming 'Lilli doesn't need you!' and other things.

He glanced again at her. _Beillschmidt senior does not deserve an angel like her._

"Does Beillschmidt senior still treat you well?" asked Ivan, hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Ja, he does." smiled Lilli. Ivan smiled, not because of her answer, but because of her cute voice and formal way of speaking. "What?"

The Russian snapped out of his musings. "C-chto?" He bit his lip, the way Lilli furrowed her small eyebrows. "..I said it aloud, da?"

Lilli chuckled. " Ja, you did. You like my formal way of speaking?"

Ivan shrugged. "You were much informal when we were young. But I like everything about you." Once again, he had to add that detested clause to lessen suspicions. "We're bestfriends. I suppose you do like everything about me, da?" His disappointment was lessened when she nodded happily. _Beautiful_, those words echoed throughout his mind. He had always wanted to tell her that. Ivan immediately noticed that her face darkened. She was..worried?

"Something wrong, da?"

Lilli shuffled uneasily. "We should go back, Ivan."

He visibly frowned. Why didn't she call him 'Van'ka' anymore? She used to call him that whenever they were alone. "But their shift hasn't ended."

"Ja, but we have to. We can't let them worry. Also I have something to do."

"..Chto?"

"I.." she shuffled, "I-I have to get Gilbert a anniversary gift."

He blinked. anniversary? What? He blinked again, remembering what a anniversary was. So that's why they were dressed up good today. Too bad Gilbert was stuck with the cleaning duty. Maybe she does love Beillschmidt senior. Whenever she's with him, she never bothers to look at the time. Ivan felt the black hole pop up once again. He dared himself not to shiver. As he opened his mouth to say something, his mind screamed at him. _Don't say it. Don't say it. Nothing good will ever happen if you say it. Don't._ Ivan closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Da. Alright. Let's go." he said, hiding the strain though it was very evident. Fortunately, Lilli didn't notice. Or rather, pretended not to notice. She turned her back on him and led the way.

"I don't know why, but Gilbert doesn't like me seeing you. That's what he said." said Lilli. Her tone was sad and confused.

Ivan silently shuffled behind. He didn't respond. His heart was sinking, threatening to fall out and drop to the cold, unforgiving ground with a large splatter. Maybe if he actually did that, she would finally notice him? But since when did he start thinking about these thoughts? He was sure he only hated Gilbert. The black hole was only caused by distaste. Maybe he was in love with his beautiful bestfriend? He shook his head. He was sure that the black hole existed because he hated Gil, and not because he loved Lilli.

He looked at the little head of wheat-blond hair. The ribbon bounced against her light locks.

How many years had he been with her? Four.

Since when did he see her as beautiful? He knew she was always beautiful, but now, it was all different. It was a different kind of beautiful.

Every glance was killing him. He was sure his heart would just push itself out, breaking his breastbone, ripping his flesh. He was sure he was going to die today. The rhythm was smothering him. He was going to die. He was going to die in an ugly pool of blood.

His feet stopped.

But she didn't.

She was sailing away. Smiling, even? Smiling, excited to see the face of her beloved. Ivan's feet remained rooted in the ground. He was going to stay.

Nothing was quite the same ever since Gilbert came.

But it wasn't so bad. She was happy.

Oh God, not this again.

She was seven meters away when she realized he wasn't walking with him. She turned back. Ivan? He wasn't there. He couldn't take it anymore. He ran away and hid. It was the only thing he could do. He was deeply intimidated by something he couldn't even see. But that was what made it the scary. Untangible things were the scariest, especially the ones that couldn't quite be explained by science.

But these thoughts never crossed her mind. Maybe he just went ahead or forgot something? The sky was already dark. Her brother would be fuming mad.

Ivan was inside a nearby drugstore, breathing heavily and not even taking his eyes off her for a single second. He wanted to go stalk her again, but he felt like he was wearing cement shoes. He wanted to follow her without her noticing, just like what he did every single time she would go home from his place, regardless if it was dark or a sunny afternoon. It was one of his best-kept secrets. He'd always stalk her on the way home.

It was dark, with many bad people.. he thought, Go after her. It doesn't matter. Something feels off.

One time, he was stalking her home and managed to find one creep also stalking her. He managed to go take a little talk with the offender and never once saw him. The memory was foggy. It was a long time ago. He shivered. (1)

"Hey, are you okay-"

A man who meant well suddenly dropped to the ground and staggered away at the sight of harsh violet eyes.

...

The shopping center. She was just in front of Peeters chocolaterie, on the next sidewalk. Her view was interrupted by random people walking by and the passing cars in the street. From the glass, she saw Gilbert, Elizaveta, Vash and Roderich. Roderich and Vash were having some sort of conversation. But one thing was, Vash was really angry. That's right, he asked Roderich to take a look at her before Ivan taken her into custody. Both of them were going to be in so much trouble. Another thing was..Gil was talking very enthustiastically to a pissed Eliza. She didn't want to be jealous, but she had just noticed that Gil was more lively when Eliza was around. She was with them in all of their dates. He would even cancel their date whenever Eliza wasn't around- wait, he cancelled every single date she planned without Eliza! It wasn't that long before Roderich spotted her from the transparent glass walls. Everyone turned to her. She saw the immediate change of expression on Gil's face, though he was already advancing towards the door.

"Lilli! Vash was damn worried about you!"

_Yes, Vash. Not you_, she thought. Lilli covered up her frown and smiled. The streetlight turned green and she, along with all of the passerby walked up to the next side. Lilli unconsciously scowled at the bored expression Gil had. She sort of lagged behind. It was her first time to feel uncomfortable around Gilbert. The said man groaned and returned to the chocolaterie. _Gute, leave me here. You were never a gentleman._ She was removed from her annoyed mental rant by a familiar voice, sounding very strained. There were large footsteps behind her.

Ivan was running after her. His green hoodie had dark wet spots soaked by sweat. He was holding something she couldn't quite make out. Looking closely, it was..a card? An anniversary card, but- was it for her? She lost her breath as a car almost hit Ivan. Wait, a car?

The stoplight glared red at her. Similar red eyes widened as Lilli ran to the Russian's direction. She was about to meet him in the middle when she winced at the bright flash of light growing bigger and bigger reflected in her emerald doe eyes.

"Lilli!"

**(1) If you read Chapter 7 again, you could read that there was something stalking Lilli on her way home to Ivan's.**

**Anyways, I started to feel like there was something familiar about the flow of events until I remembered that old film (not Three Faces of Eve).**

**I feel like I just put Winter Sonata and Edward Scissorhands in a blender and translated it in Hetalian.**

**If you're reading this, thanks for listening to my pointless author notes. I hope you don't stop reading the fic just because of what happened- *gets bludgeoned by Ivan's faucet pipe***


	32. Chapter 32

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 32: Boiling Point**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia. If I did, you'll all hate me. I'm sure some of you have started.**

**Warning: Lots of German swear words and character death.**

**But not on this chapter, of course.**

Bright lights around. Sound of beeping machines. Harsh sound of metal-hinged wheels. Frantic screaming. Ambulance sirens. Warm red blood. Ivan's voice.

Those were the last things she remembered throughout the pain. The harsh, burning pain.

But now, she wished she could feel that pain again.

She couldn't feel a thing.

...

Vash was in the waiting room, along with everyone who was present during the incident. Even the Peeters. Gilbert and Ivan weren't even exchanging hostile gestures.

After what it felt seemed an eternity, the doctors finally walked out of the emergency room. The victim's elder brother, of course, was first to approach. He was on the verge of breaking down. Govert and Bella were on his side, ready to support him if he fell.

He didn't know whether to feel relieved or cry at the announcement.

"She's in a coma."

Everyone was visibly streaked with pain at the news. But everyone tried to keep their spirits up for Vash. After all, a coma was better than dead, right? Slightly. A coma was the final step of an easy death. They said her chances of living were good, but they had no idea on when could she wake up. Vash snapped at this very sentence. Roderich and Govert held him down. He lost it. He started yelling at everyone, especially at Ivan, blaming them for this accident. He burst into angry German that only Roderich and Gilbert could understand. Soon, he broke down from stress and fatigue. It was perfectly normal. Lilli was the only thing Vash cared about. It would be more bothering if he didn't react like this.

A few minutes of suffocating silence passed.

As much as he wanted to stay, Ivan excused himself and went home. His sisters would be worried. Gilbert accompanied him. He didn't bring a cellphone and had no means to communicate with Ludwig.

* * *

The two walked silently. The streets were bare, except for occasional bystanders. Ivan dragged his feet tiredly while Gilbert walked normal. The audible clack of their soles were unnerving.

He gritted his teeth and lost it. Ivan didn't respond when he got pinned again to the wall by a German once again.

"Drecksack.." Gil muttered between clenched teeth. "Why the Holle did you even choose to show up, huh, Braginski?!"

His amethyst eyes simply drifted off. "This isn't the best time to fight-"

"This is the perfekt time to fight!" yelled an infuriated Gilbert, shoving him harder into the wall, "This is all your fault, du Lusche!"

"Da, it is my fault and I can't do anything to undo it-"

Gilbert simply cut him off with a very hard punch. Ivan's facial expression gave off no signal of pain, which enraged the German even more. He was in enough pain already that it numbed his senses.

Gilbert didn't waste any time. He punched him some more, left, right, kicked him in the stomach, uppercut until he grew tired of his oversized punching bag. The Russian absorbed all his blows with stride. The only time Ivan gave him eye contact was when he spat a mixture of blood, spit and a fragment of a tooth on Gilbert's face. The albino gave him the loudest hate-filled swear he managed to throw. He was far too exhausted to even look at him. "I wasn't joking about beating you up if you get too close to her.. But you've gone too far, mistvieh. This is all your fault! To Holle with you!"

Ivan simply stared at him.

"That's the only thing, huh?! I thought you were her friend, she's in a coma and you're just acting like all's fine and well?!" he prepared to give him another punch.

The Russian beat him to it. All the repressed anger he's been holding in for a year. He's hated the man since they met. The force was so strong that Gilbert toppled over a few inches away from his original position. He could hardly get back up. As the Russian walked away, he managed to get to his feet and run after him, swearing some more. "Don't you dare go to the hospital, drecksack! If I see your Scheiße face again, I will-"

"Fick dich in Knie." Ivan muttered darkly. Gilbert sat, dumbfounded. The Russian grinned. Four years of enduring Vash Zwingli's language taught him at least a little bit. He had beat Gilbert at his own game. How did he know? Gil didn't yell anything in reply.

His triumphant smile dissipated in the air. He may have acted perfectly like he didn't care, but Gilbert's words stuck like glue. It was entirely his fault. Back at the hospital, he could understand Vash's rapid German, saying that it was all his fault. 'It's that fucking Russian's fault! He did this to my sister! If he weren't there..'. He could remember every bit of Vash's hate-filled speech. By now, his entire being was engulfed by the black hole.

...

Her slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the table. Bright teal eyes sparkled as someone picked up the other line.

"Hallo.." the voice was hoarse and weary. It wasn't the voice she wanted to hear.

"Mister Zwingli?" Yekaterina Braginskaya responded. She wanted to talk to Lilli. "Is Lilli-"

"Nein. State your business."

"O-oh.." her voice trailed off, "M-moy brat didn't come home last night so I was wondering if you-"

"Your bruder just put mein schwester in a coma. I don't know, maybe he killed himself. As for me, I do not have anything else to do with Ivan Braginski. Guten tag and do not call again. Ever."

Vash Zwingli hung up. Yekaterina's eyes clouded with worry. Where had Ivan gone to? She was having a very sick feeling in her gut.

"Vanya.."

Everyone looked at the man heaving himself across the street. His eyes were bloodshot and face pale and bruised. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, with a long, cloth-bundled instrument slung around his back. The usual bystanders and townsfolk knew him. He was probably the most known student throughout the nearby public school. He was always seen with the young girl from another school, his bestfriend. The absence of the girl triggered some mental questions. His absence in school triggered verbal responses. The bags under his eyes were a dead giveaway that he had not gone home since last night. Some of the witnesses- the few people who were there during that incident, knew why. He was headed for school. But it was weird, as one by one, students left the building.

One student in particular caught his eye. In a not-so-good way. He also caught her eye, as he came running towards him.

"Brat!" Natalya cried worriedly. Her concern wasn't met with the same intentions. As soon as she was in arm's reach, he pulled on her hair mercilessly. Natalya winced and shrieked as her beloved brother didn't see her much of a sister anymore.

"Would you consider telling me why you did that or would you like me to tell the whole story to you myself?" he grinned. Natalya paled. She knew that grin. Quickly, she tried to claw her way out of his grip but no resistance can match his wrath.

"What ever did I do to you?!" she cried out, tears welling on her eyes. The hurt was overpowering her will to stay strong. Everyone was watching. Everyone from the school was watching. She looked at them. It was no use. She looked weak and useless.

_Weak and useless._

Ivan yanked her, telling her to face him. "I thought you loved me. Why did you do it then-"

"I DID IT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" she screamed at him.

"Because you loved me? YOU JUST KILLED SOMEONE! YOU KILLED HER!"

Natalya's resistance and tears stopped momentarily. "..her..?"

"Don't you dare give me that face, Natalya Arlovskaya, I know everything!" Everyone panicked. Some people were pulling out their phones and calling for help. Ivan was menacingly smiling. There were tears in his eyes as well. "I know everything...you asked the Mafia to kill her...in exchange for money.. You stole from us..that money you used..? You stole from us, and you killed her!"

"I asked the Mafia to kill Beillschmidt!" yelled Natalya back, "Gilbert Beillschmidt! Who is 'her'?!"

Ivan stopped. He had a hard time processing her claims. "..Chto..?"

"I stole from you, I had a deal with the Mafia, I threatened Lovino Vargas.." she cried, "..But I asked to kill Gilbert Beillschmidt! Beillschmidt...wasn't Beillschmidt killed..?"

The look on Ivan's face told her everything. Beillschmidt wasn't killed.

Ivan threw her to the ground harshly and turned back. Natalya wanted to run after him, but he stopped her.

"I haven't forgiven you yet. If I see you again in some place where you do not belong, I will not hesitate to do something worse."

The girl stopped and stayed still. Her head bowed. That happened..in front of everyone? She felt weak. Broken in some way she could not understand. Tears fell until she felt something wrap around her frame. A jacket. She had seen this particular jacket before but-

Natalya was cut off her musings when a strong pair of arms carried her. She came face-to-face with bespectacled blue eyes. The familiar blue eyes that never had looked so beautiful.

"Hero's duty." said Alfred Jones, carrying her away from the scene. She said nothing but buried her face deep in his shoulder out of shame.

**Sorry for the late updates 'cuz I survived another legendary heart attack last night. The scene above corresponds with the historical fact that America had a deal with Belarus after the fall of the Soviet Union.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 33: Boiling Point, Part 2**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia. If I did, you'll all hate me. Some of you already do. :D**

Ivan Braginski didn't know why were they here. He was outnumbered, one to ten. They brandished sticks, baseball bats and some even had knives. He didn't quite understand his situation aside from the fact that he was in enemy territory.

"Hi, our boss told us to get rid of you."

Ivan had a slightly stupid look on his face. The "Uh-"

He didn't have time to guess who the boss was when the largest of them all- even larger than Ivan Braginski himself, raised the large piece of wood he brandished and slammed it in his direction. He would have been dead if he had not dodged. Also, even if the man was strong, he was too slow. Soon, the other nine ganged up on him, attempted to harm him in one way or another until they formed a circle with Ivan in the middle. He was surrounded. And, he was most likely going to lose.

If he does not choose to take out his trump card. He took his time to remove the clothed package from his shoulder. He loosened the cloth ties and fully removed the cloth.

Ivan Braginski smirked, resting his prized faucet pipe on his shoulder.

"Bring it."

* * *

Gilbert Beillschmidt laid down on the bed, reading a book. Writing a book report was so bothersome. It was deadly boring, but he would rather be here than some place else. His mind drifted off to some other things.

* * *

"If she didn't, who did?" Another cry of pain echoed throughout the barren piece of land. Ivan Braginski's face was red, stained with blood. He looked around. All his adversaries were near death. One hardly breathed. He would be a goner in a few minutes.

Ivan Braginski grinned at his handiwork.

"We don't know.." they all shivered. It was pleasing to know that these ten losers knew all about the incident with Lilli. Lovino Vargas clearly wasn't the promoter with this attempt of finishing him off. His second visit to the to the abandoned factory was better than the first. The first which was last night. He had done well on tracking the car that hit Lilli. With a little help from the police, it wasn't hard, just taking a look at the security cameras and the rest was up to them. And at midnight, he busted in the old abandoned factory and wreaked havoc until one of them spit up the words. The wrong words.

"Suit yourself." he raised his faucet pipe, dripping with blood, aiming at some random goon's head, "You see, comrade, I am not really in a hurry. I would like to spend more time with you until I paint the walls in a pretty red."

He swung it and a breath from rendering the man headless, someone finally cracked.

The Russian set down his weapon and blinked. The man had finally spit everything out. As much as it was unbelievable, it was good to hear. The man who had tasked to kill Lilli, the man who had ordered the gang to get rid of him..the man behind it all was but one. That saved him the bother of going after them.

Ivan Braginski slung his weapon on his shoulder. His face was so swollen that he had failed to recognize who the man was- the driver. The driver who had ran over his beloved. Sharp violet eyes bore holes into his forehead.

"I expect this is true, da?"

The man vigorously nodded. "Other than that, I don't know anything..! Please, don't kill us!"

The Russian nodded understandingly. His gloves and scarf were speckled with red splotches and his green hoodie was nowhere near recognizable. He smelled like blood and metal.

Without any more ado, he removed his scarf- the one Lilli had lovingly knitted- and wiped his faucet pipe clean of blood. As he turned to all ten, he grinned at their faces looking more and more dead.

"Remember this as the day you have survived Ivan Braginski, da?"

He turned and left the factory, wrapping the scarf around his neck. Before he disappeared in the horizon, he gave them one last parting gift.

"I don't mind if you report this incident. Because not even the police will save you from me."

And everyone knew this was not a lie.

He then closed the large iron gates and left. He knew it was the last time he would see them as he had skillfully beaten special areas in their spine that would render them forever paralyzed. He would let fate get rid of them, though it was rather fun beating the living hell out of every single one of them. It was like playing a xylophone.

And now, he was going to carry out the best part.

Death was going to pay the boss a visit.

* * *

It was a dark, moonless night. It was raining hard. The pitter-patter of the rain did nothing to calm Gilbert Beillschmidt's nerves.

Thunder roared. The albino flinched but that was it. It was unawesome to get scared of a little lightning, he thought. Ludwig wasn't home. He was with their uncle Herman, probably indulging himself with all-you-can-drink beer. Gilbert sighed. He should've came along if it weren't for this unawesomely boring book report. A blinding light flashed and Gilbert covered his ears. When there is lightning, there is bound to be thunder. As expected, a loud crash boomed throughout the vicinity. The rain fell harder. Lightning flashed again.

And Gilbert did not notice a dark figure halfway in his room through the window. The flash illuminated him.

Thunder boomed and Gilbert froze at the sound of a voice other than his.

"Privet, Beillschmidt senior."


	34. Chapter 34

**Three Faces of Ivan**

**Chapter 34: Vanishing Point**

_Blink._

_Blink._

_Blink._

The first thing she saw upon waking up was the whitewashed ceiling and a fluorescent bulb.

The next thing was her bestfriend Elizaveta Hedervary, sitting next to her.

"You're finally awake." she breathed. She looked downcast and sad. Lilli remembered the past events. Everything. She was about to say something accusable to Elizaveta but she decided against it.

"Where's bruder?"

"Home." said Elizaveta. Lilli nodded.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Maybe a month or 25 plus days. Ludwig said you can come over and copy all of his notes." Lilli nodded weakly once again. She looked up to the Hungarian.

"Where's Gilbert?"

Her face visibly darkened. She fidgeted a bit in her seat.

"Where is he, schwester?" Lilli repeated. There was no change of tone in her voice. No anger nor jealousy. Just plain worried.

Eliza glanced at her and looked away. "Gone."

"Was?"

"Gone." Elizaveta repeated, giving her a glance before looking away once again. The brunette felt a lump in her throat. Lilli's emerald eyes darkened. But, how could he be gone? She looked up to her again.

"Where's Ivan?"

The room was filled with silence. Uneasy silence. Lilli could swear she could hear her own heart beat fast. He couldn't be.. He couldn't be..

"I don't know."

The answer was neutral, but it still had a negative effect on her. "All I know is that he was banned to visit you." Elizaveta added, "Vash stayed here everyday before and after class just to make sure he doesn't visit. One time he tried, and Vash actually threw a chair at him. Never heard of him since. But I do know that he managed to visit you."

Elizaveta held up a card. Her eyes widened. It was the same anniversary card she saw in Ivan's hand before getting hit. She reluctantly accepted it and opened it up.

The handwriting was sloppy.

_Happy anniversary, Lilli. Best wishes._

_-Ivan_

The second part of the letter was written in messier handwriting. It was visibly streaked with red marks that looked like blood. It was written a few days after the words above.

_I will miss you._

* * *

Days passed by. Lilli couldn't help but notice all the scary changes that had happened throughout her one month of absence.

Vash had cut off all ties with the Edelstein family and started to detest Roderich.

Elizaveta and Ludwig hasn't been the same since Gilbert died.

Ivan's sisters and housemates became more and more distant. Katyusha still talked to her regularly, but her eyes didn't have the same shine as before.

And Ivan. Ivan Braginski was never seen again.

Everything commenced like he never existed.

* * *

_"Schwester..?"_

_"What is it, Lilli?"_

_Small hands fidgeted a bit. "..Do you think...Ivan might have liked me?"_

_A moment of silence as Elizaveta pondered deeply about it._

_"I would be lying if I said I didn't notice."_

**End of Part 2**

**Basically, I replaced the chapter 'cuz I forgot about that stuff. THAT stuff above.**

**Okay, so it's time for the depressing (maybe) news. I'm putting this story on temporary hiatus. I'll update this maybe on the second week of December. Gotta work on my other stories and focus on school (not really like I need to focus on anything). Also, I wanted to push my luck and try out in a Hetalia halloween themed drawing contest in deviantart. And I have to practice. I'll be performing 'Just Give Me A Reason' on piano for the U.N. celebration in my school. Plus, I also have to take my medications, which involve staying away from radiation stuff according to my mom. (I make the worst excuses..er reasons, ever.)**

**The 'End of Part 2' stuff was just something I put in there. Each part consisted of 17 chapters. (You might have or not have noticed) Part 1 was primary school and part 2's about middle school. Part 3, the last, will be coming out on December. I have some surprises ahead. In part 3, we'll fast forward to 7 years later.**

**And I will be writing using present tense.**

**Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favorites. I might write some RussLiech one-shots.**

**And (last, I swear) if you like RussLiech, try to look at my other multi-chapter fic 'Once Upon A Time'. Yeah, it's RussLiechNed, but it still has more RussLiech because..well..I wrote it. Thanks once again. I love all of you.**

**-Char Tomio**


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